This week, Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Anthony Kent about lifestyle routines for healthy kidneys. Dr. Kent is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology and a kidney specialist at MUSC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Healthy kidneys are vital for your overall well-being. Doctor Anthony Kent is here to talk about the details and lifestyle tips to promote kidney health. Doctor Kent is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, and he's a kidney specialist at MUSC. Doctor Kent, we know that our kidneys filter waste, but tell us about the other essential roles that our kidneys play in our overall health.
Dr. Kent: Basically, our kidneys help in a variety of different ways for not only our day to day health, but also our long term health. One of the most common things that the kidneys do is help regulate our blood pressure and our fluid and electrolyte status. For example, if you've been out on a hot day in South Carolina, or haven't been drinking much fluids, you might feel a little lightheaded, a little bit weak. That's because your volume status, what we call as nephrologist, that is how much fluid and sodium and electrolytes that are circulating through your bloodstream are possibly low, and your kidneys will sense that naturally, and they will start to increase their retention of fluid and electrolytes in your body, particularly sodium, to help support your blood pressure. In addition, the kidneys also secrete a hormone that supports hemoglobin production. Furthermore, the kidneys actually convert inactive vitamin D to active vitamin D, so if you're taking a vitamin D supplement, it's the kidneys that are primarily responsible for activating that vitamin D, so it can then go on to help absorb calcium from the gut and support a healthy bone structure.
Conner: What are the main things we can do each day to keep our kidneys healthy?
Dr. Kent: For the average population, making sure that you're not doing anything to harm the kidneys. For example, taking a frequent amount of NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. And those are medications like ibuprofen or naproxen or meloxicam. And those medications, every now and then, they're okay. However, when you take them regularly, they can actually lead to acute kidney injury, or even chronic kidney disease, in addition to other side effects that those medications have. Acetaminophen, which is also a common pain medication generally does not have the same effects on the kidneys. Staying hydrated, having an active lifestyle with exercise, healthy weight, monitoring your blood pressure, not smoking, are all really top order items to help support long term kidney health.
Conner: And you mentioned that hydration is especially important to keep kidneys healthy. Tell us more about how much water, or what we need to know.
Dr. Kent: When it comes to the kidneys, fluids are key. Fluids basically support blood flow to the kidneys, which get about 20% of the blood volume with each heartbeat. However, we don't want patients to get too much fluid. For example, in patients with heart failure, they can't tolerate a lot of fluid. And at the same time, we won't, we don't want patients to be dehydrated. Generally, my rule of thumb is that patients need somewhere on the order of 1 to 2 liters, or 32 to 64oz of total oral liquids, mostly water, on a daily basis. Of course, that might be customized to the patient depending on other conditions like heart failure, where we need to restrict fluid more. Or, if patients have chronic electrolyte problems where we need to adjust their fluid intake, or if patients, say, has a lifestyle where they work in manual labor or outside, often where they need to increase their fluid intake or with exercise, for example.
Conner: Doctor Kent, thanks for talking with us about kidney health.
Dr. Kent: My pleasure. Thanks so much, Bobbi.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
