Your kidneys filter waste, balance electrolytes, support blood pressure, and activate vitamin D — all essential functions for everyday health.
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Key Takeaways:
Your kidneys filter waste, balance electrolytes, support blood pressure, and activate vitamin D — all essential functions for everyday health.
Low kidney function has many contributing causes, including diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure, smoking, certain medications, and recurrent and severe dehydration.
Healthy habits like staying hydrated, eating a low-sodium diet, getting regular exercise, and limiting alcohol and smoking can help support kidney health naturally.
Lab tests such as creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) can provide a clearer picture of your kidney function and help catch issues early.
A small-but-mighty organ, your kidneys have a few essential functions. Located under the ribs, the fist-sized powerhouses filter your body’s waste and excess fluids from the bloodstream. Your body then expels these products through urine. The kidneys also regulate electrolyte balance, produce a hormone called erythropoietin that stimulates red blood cell production, help regulate blood pressure, and support bone health by activating vitamin D.
Given all of these responsibilities, it makes sense that optimal kidney function is essential to your overall health. Healthy kidneys help your body keep its fluid levels in check, prevent waste from building up, and support overall organ function.
In this guide, we outline some of the causes of decreased kidney function, lifestyle strategies to support kidney health naturally, and biomarkers that can help to track how well the organ is working.
As mentioned, optimal kidney function is key to supporting a number of physiological processes that uphold overall health. However, a number of causes can explain why the kidneys may not work perfectly — and sometimes, a decline is predictable and even normal. For instance, declining kidney filtration rate and lower eGFR values are not uncommon in adults older than 75.
Several other conditions can injure the kidneys, though, causing lower kidney function or kidney disease. These include:
Smoking
Excessive alcohol consumption
Uncontrolled hypertension
Cardiovascular disease risk factors (including high LDL cholesterol)
Certain medications (especially long-term NSAID use)
Recurrent severe dehydration
Understanding your risk factors can help you pinpoint possible causes of kidney issues and, if possible, treat the problem to protect kidney function and slow further decline.
Sometimes, it’s possible to not only support kidney health, but to do so with daily lifestyle habits. Here are eight evidence-backed ways to support your kidney health naturally.
Drinking enough water helps your kidneys filter and remove waste. Daily water needs vary depending on a number of factors, including your age, activity level, and general health profile. Urine color can be a rough guide: Often, pale yellow suggests adequate hydration, but supplements and some medical conditions can also change urine color.
As a caveat, if you’re experiencing advanced-stage kidney disease and are undergoing dialysis, you may need to limit your intake of fluids. In this case, check in with your doctor about how much you should be drinking.
High amounts of sodium increase blood pressure and fluid retention, which puts stress on the kidneys. So, being mindful of high-sodium items, like processed foods (including frozen meals and canned soups), fast food, and restaurant meals, can be helpful for kidney function.
To best support your kidneys, consider nutrition plans like the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet or a Mediterranean-style diet, as each emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and fish while limiting saturated fats, processed food, and sugar.
Excess weight can make the kidneys work harder and potentially function suboptimally.
If you have overweight or obesity, losing just 5 to 10 percent of your overall body weight can improve key risk factors like blood pressure and blood sugar and reduce strain on the kidneys.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease. To keep your blood sugar balance, try pairing carbohydrates with protein and fiber to keep blood sugar levels steadier. Routine HbA1C monitoring (a blood test that measures blood glucose levels over time) allows you and your clinician to notice any worrying changes and adjust medications, diet, and lifestyle strategies to protect the kidneys.
Exercise may help improve kidney function by improving blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and cardiovascular health. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week to maintain healthy zones of blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and cholesterol.
Smoking damages blood vessels, which, in turn, reduces kidney perfusion (the flow of blood through the kidneys). Excess alcohol leads to dehydration and can raise blood pressure. Moderate drinking in men is defined as two or fewer drinks per day, but no amount of alcohol is considered beneficial to your health.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen reduce blood flow to the kidneys, which can be harmful. This may be particularly dangerous in people with additional risk factors like older age, preexisting kidney disease, using diuretics, or having concurrent illnesses that cause fluid loss (e.g., vomiting, diarrhea). To support kidney health while taking NSAIDs, aim for the lowest effective dose and try to avoid using the medication for more than a few days in a row.
Lab work, including bloodwork, urine tests, and assessment of kidney filtration rate, can help with early detection of renal (kidney-related) issues. Kidney disease is often easier to manage early, and early detection can help slow progression.
If you’re interested in learning more about your kidney health, the following lab tests may help:
Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN): Measures the amount of nitrogen in your blood from waste products. It can rise with reduced kidney function but is also affected by hydration status and protein intake.
BUN/Creatinine Ratio: Can help healthcare providers assess possible causes of kidney dysfunction, such as dehydration versus other causes.
Creatinine: Reveals how well your kidneys are filtering waste.
Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR): Estimates your overall kidney function.
The kidneys are essential to your everyday functioning. They filter waste from the body, help maintain electrolyte balance, produce certain hormones, and make vitamin D. Leading a healthy lifestyle that includes staying hydrated, eating a healthy diet, and avoiding smoking and consuming excess alcohol is helpful for maintaining kidney health and reducing the risk of further decline.
Early signs of kidney issues can be subtle and may include swelling in the legs or around the eyes, fatigue, changes in urination (more, less, or foamy urine), trouble concentrating, and persistent itching. Many people have no symptoms at first, which is why routine lab tests are important.
It depends on the cause. Some kidney issues — such as dehydration, certain medications, or uncontrolled blood pressure — can be reversible when treated early. Lifestyle changes typically won’t fully reverse chronic kidney disease, but healthy habits and proper medical care can significantly slow its progression.
Some supplements can stress or damage the kidneys, especially in people with kidney disease, including certain herbal supplements (such as aristolochia) and protein powders taken in large quantities. Check with a clinician before using any supplements, especially if you have kidney disease or take prescription medications.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment. Learn more about our editorial standards here.
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