Seafood has been associated with a higher risk of kidney disease, especially shellfish. These mild-looking and great-tasting delicacies are actually really bad for your kidneys, due to a toxic chemical called domoic acid. According to a 2014 research by the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, this domoic acid, causes a health situation called “Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning”, which basically means your kidneys are under attack by various toxins.
Even low quantities of this toxin have been reported as harmful, so it would be best to make sure you eat seafood in moderation, especially if you’re a fan of shellfish. This is obviously disregarding other risk factors such as mercury and other contaminants, which are not that dangerous in moderate amounts but could easily add up to dangerous levels when eaten without caution.
Don’t Keep The TV On All Day
After studying almost 70,000 women that suffered from heart disease or diabetes, researchers compiled the data and looked at the ones that managed to cut their risk of heart attack by more than 90%. One of the major six habits that caused this lowered risk was watching less than seven hours of TV per week.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that people who regularly exercise but also watch TV often have about the same rate of heart disease as those who don't work out but also don't watch TV. If you found yourself binge-watching Netflix shows or just scrolling through the TV channels and trying to pass the time, a much better alternative would be to listen to a podcast while taking a walk or doing something more productive.
Avoid Certain Types of Heartburn Medication
When stomach acids flow up into the esophagus (also called the food pipe), it causes you to feel a burning sensation in your chest and a bad taste in your mouth. This condition is called heartburn and is most common among medically weaker populations, such as old people, smokers, pregnant women, and obese people.
One natural way to combat heartburn is to eat slowly, go for smaller meals, and avoid tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine completely. Unfortunately, most people opt instead to take heartburn medication, which has a good chance of hurting your kidneys. In fact, regularly taking heartburn medications is tied with a 26% increase in chronic kidney disease. There are only a handful of heartburn medications that do not cause this type of effect, one of which is the H2 Blocker group. If you must take heartburn medication, ask your doctor for an H2 Blocker to keep your kidneys from danger.
Watch Your Saturated Fat Consumption
There are essentially two kinds of cholesterol, a good one and a bad one. According to the National Kidney Foundation, you should mostly be aware of the bad kind called LDL cholesterol. This type of cholesterol not only clogs arteries but also harms your kidneys.
Despite being quite unhealthy, you can enjoy butter occasionally and in small amounts, but should absolutely avoid it in large doses. By replacing butter with margarine, you get a similar flavor with almost no trans fat or “hydrogenated” fats, which both cause a dramatic rise in your LDL cholesterol level.
Lack of Sleep Is Correlated With Kidney Failure
The average adult today is chronically underslept and often lacks one or even two hours of sleep on average than the recommended amount of seven to eight hours daily. These poor sleep habits contribute to a 19% increase in kidney failure, according to a 2016 study by the University of Chicago which found a link between sleeping 6.5 hours per night and the odds of kidney failure.
The main reason for this is presumably that your kidneys keep working when you’re awake, and the lack of sleep causes them to overstrain themselves without getting enough rest. Another possible cause is that we often tend to make the worst dietary decisions towards the end of the day when we’re tired and lack energy. The more you’ve exercised willpower during the day, the less you’ll have at the end of it to avoid making bad decisions.