For older adults, particularly men, sarcopenia is a major concern. It’s the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength that occurs with aging. This condition can lead to reduced mobility, an increased risk of falls, and a loss of independence. To combat this, a higher protein intake is critical. This, however, is often a debated topic as to whether consuming protein may lead to kidney failure. According to Dr. J. Kevin Tucker with Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, “There is no strong evidence that people without CKD or those with mild disease should restrict protein. There may be special situations in people with very advanced CKD, for whom protein restriction may be beneficial. Patients with CKD need to have that discussion with their nephrologist.”.
What Does the Kidney Do?
Think of your kidneys as a pair of highly efficient filters. Their main job is to process your blood, removing excess water and waste products to create urine. This urine then travels from each kidney down a narrow tube called the ureter and into the bladder. This entire system—the kidneys, ureters, and bladder—is known as the urinary tract.
Checking Yourself for Symptoms of a Kidney Stone
For some, a kidney stone can sit in a kidney without causing any trouble at all. But if it starts to move or gets lodged, you’ll likely know it. The most common symptom is intense pain. This pain can start in your side, an area known as the loin, and can be so severe that it makes you feel sweaty and nauseous.
A classic sign of a moving stone is something called renal colic. This is a severe, cramping pain that comes in waves. It happens because your ureter tries to squeeze the stone down toward your bladder, causing intense spasms. The pain can last for a few minutes or a few hours, often with breaks in between, and may even spread from your side down into your lower abdomen or groin. This is why it’s often described as loin-to-groin pain.
Other clues that you might have a kidney stone include blood in your urine (sometimes too small to see with the naked eye) and symptoms like a fever, feeling sick, or vomiting.
How to Avoid Kidney Diseases?
Richard Uzelac’s Tips on Avoiding Kidney Diseases
- Check Your Kidneys Regularly: If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, you should talk to your doctor about getting your kidney function tested. People with diabetes often damage their kidney filters due to excessive glucose. On the other hand, people with high blood pressure can injure the kidney’s blood vessels.
- Look out for symptoms: A kidney stone can grow large enough to completely block the ureter. When this happens, it can lead to a serious kidney infection. This is because the blockage prevents waste from passing through, allowing bacteria to build up. If you experience a high fever, chills, fatigue, or have cloudy, bad-smelling urine, you should seek immediate medical attention.
- Be fit: A healthy lifestyle, which includes avoiding high blood pressure and diabetes, translates to healthy kidneys. Do some exercise, watch your diet, and avoid eating too much of anything.
A Simple Guide to Dodging Kidney Stones
Kidney stones can be a real pain—literally. These hard, pebble-like deposits form when certain substances, like calcium and oxalate, become too concentrated in your urine. While a family history can increase your risk, the good news is that you have a lot of control over whether they form. The key to prevention is often as simple as changing a few daily habits. Let’s look at some of the best ways to keep your kidneys healthy and stone-free.
- Hydration: This is the single most important thing you can do to prevent kidney stones. Think of it like this: the more you drink, the more you dilute your urine. Diluted urine makes it much harder for those stone-forming crystals to clump together and grow. Aim for at least 10 to 12 glasses of fluid a day, and while water is the best choice, other beverages count too. The goal is to keep your urine a light, pale yellow color.
- Moderate Protein Intake: Many of us eat more animal protein than we need, and this can contribute to stone formation. Limiting your intake of beef, pork, poultry, and fish to about six to eight ounces per day can make a big difference. That’s roughly the size of two decks of cards.
- Balance Meal: A highly acidic urine can contribute to the formation of certain types of kidney stones, particularly uric acid stones. But adding a diet rich in fruits and vegetables helps balance things out. — helping you prevent having kidney stones.
- Avoid Too Much Salt: Did you know that the more sodium you eat, the more calcium your body excretes into your urine? Then this excess Calcium can combine with other substances to form a stone.
- Get Calcium Naturally: This might sound counterintuitive, but while calcium is a key ingredient in most kidney stones, getting it from food is actually a good thing. Dietary calcium binds to oxalate in your intestines, preventing it from being absorbed and later excreted by your kidneys. On the other hand, calcium supplements can increase your risk of developing stones. Unless your doctor has specifically told you to take them for a condition like osteopenia or osteoporosis, it’s best to get your calcium from two to three daily servings of foods like milk and yogurt.
Takeaway:
When it comes to kidney health, the number one threat is chronic kidney disease (CKD). This condition, which affects many American adults, involves a gradual and irreversible loss of kidney function. In advanced stages of CKD, people often require dialysis, a treatment that uses a machine to help filter the blood for them, or a kidney transplant to survive. It is also important to talk to your doctor about protein restriction, especially for people with CKD.
Preventing the progression from kidney stones to CKD is very important, so I hope you have learned something.
