FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE

Kidney Health

Kidney and Urinary Facts

The kidney’s main job is to remove waste products from your body. Most people have two kidneys, one on either side of the spine under the lower ribs. They are reddish brown in colour and shaped like kidney beans. Each kidney is about the size of a clenched fist. Each minute about one litre of blood – one-fifth of all the blood pumped by the heart – enters the kidneys through the renal arteries. After the blood is cleaned, it flows back into the body through the renal veins.

The waste products are concentrated in any extra fluid as urine. The urine flows through a tube called the ureter into the bladder. Urine passes from the bladder out of the body through a tube called the urethra. The kidney usually makes one to two litres of urine every day depending on your build, how much you drink, the temperature and the amount of exercise you do.  As well as filtering the blood, kidneys make and regulate important hormones in the body that help to control blood pressure, red blood cell production and calcium uptake from the intestine. They maintain body fluid at the correct levels for the body to function and control body chemistry by regulating the amount of salt, water and other chemicals moving around the body.

A healthy kidney can greatly increase its work capacity. If one kidney is lost, the other kidney can enlarge and do the work of two.

Tips to keep your Kidneys functioning well

• Eat lots of fruit and vegetables including legumes (peas or beans) and grain-based food like bread, pasta, noodles, and rice.
• Eat some lean meat like chicken and fish each week.
• Eat only small amounts of salty or fatty food. 
• Drink plenty of water (about 10 glasses each day) instead of other drinks. 
• Maintain a healthy weight. 
• Stay fit. Do at least 30 minutes of physical activity that increases your heart rate on five or more days of the week including walking, lawn mowing, bike riding, swimming, or gentle aerobics. 
• Don’t smoke. 
• Limit your alcohol to two small drinks per day if you are male or one small drink per day if you are female. 
• Have your blood pressure checked regularly
• Do things that help you relax and reduce your stress levels.