8 Surprising Things That Hurt Your Kidneys
Protein is essential to a healthy diet. But if your kidneys don’t work normally, high-protein diets -- especially those with lots of red meat -- can overtax them. Check with your doctor. You may need to eat small portions of different types of protein. Eggs, fish, beans, and nuts are all good sources.
In some people, too much salt can raise the amount of protein in your urine and speed up kidney decline. It also may lead to kidney stones, which can cause nausea, severe pain, and trouble peeing.
Not only can it worsen high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes -- the two leading causes of kidney disease -- but it can interfere with medicines used to treat them. It also slows blood flow to the kidneys and can cause kidney problems in people who already have kidney disease.
Heavy drinkers -- men who have more than 14 drinks a week and women who have more than 7 -- double their risk of kidney disease. But a single binge session (more than 4 or 5 drinks in less than 2 hours) can sometimes cause “acute kidney injury.” That can lead to severe kidney damage, and you might need dialysis -- when a machine helps to do part of your kidneys’ work.
If you have 2 or more diet sodas a day, you’re more likely to get kidney disease. In one study, diet soda-drinking women had 30% less kidney function after 20 years compared with other women. Sugar-sweetened drinks did not have the same effect.
Your kidneys need water to work properly. Not getting enough -- especially if that happens often -- can cause kidney damage. And there’s evidence that drinking water can lower your chances of kidney disease.
Taken regularly, large amounts of over-the-counter pain medications -- acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen -- can damage your kidneys. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to tough it out. Talk to your doctor about what you’re taking and how much to see if you might need another option.
The use of cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine (not a good idea for a host of reasons) can cause kidney damage in different ways. Some of these drugs can lead to high blood pressure, as well -- one of the leading causes of kidney disease.