Healthy lifestyle for healthy kidneys

In the time of Moses, the animal kidneys are used as sacrificial offerings in seeking divine interventions. Because only the best of everything must be offered to God, the kidneys, not the heart nor the brain, are being burnt at the altar so that the smoke would ascend to sky and reach the spirit of God. This organ enjoys then a deific kind of respect and importance. And through out biblical times, the human kidneys remain as the symbol of purity and truth, the site of temperament and prudence. This signification could have been rooted from their simple yet profound understanding of kidneys’ prime function: it purifies the body.

In this time of Google and Facebook, the kidneys are losing its title, and its value as the equilibrium center of the body has been overlooked. Just as most things became artificial and adulterated, that we, people of this generation, have gone apathetic about health and wellness. While everything is just a click away, our health has fallen far from our priorities. We are no longer mindful of our diet, the medications we take, and the habits we formed, not realizing that these things, directly or indirectly affect our kidneys. With our millennial lifestyle, we have essentially lost the symbol of balance and purity.

Just to enumerate evidences of our malignant neglect to our kidneys, statistical figures below provides us a bird’s eye view of chronic kidney disease in the world and in the Philippines.

1. Ten percent (10%) of the population worldwide is affected by chronic kidney disease, and millions die each year because they do not have access to affordable treatment. (World Kidney Day: Chronic Kidney Disease. 2015)

2. Over two million people worldwide currently receive treatment with dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive, yet this number may only represent 10% of people who actually need treatment to live. (Couser WG, et. al. The contribution of chronic kidney disease to the global burden of major non-communicable diseases)

3. In 2014, the Philippines added 15,983 new dialysis patients. In 2015, additional 18,603 patients initiated on dialysis. (Renal Disease Control Program, National Kidney and Transplant Institute)

4. In 2014, the top 3 leading causes of Primary Renal Disease in the Philippines were; (1) Diabetic Nephropathy with 6,956, (2) Hypertensive Nephropathy with 4,419, and (3) Chronic Glomerulonephritis with 2761 diagnosed individuals. (Renal Disease Control Program, National Kidney and Transplant Institute) There is no cure for chronic kidney disease. The treatment is aimed only at slowing or halting the progression of the disease and to prevent complications. In the early stages of kidney disease, proper diet and medications may help to maintain the critical balances in the body that is normally controlled by our kidneys. However, when it progressed to kidney failure, wastes and fluids accumulate in our body and this will now necessitate initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in the form of hemodialysis (removal of wastes and excess fluid from blood using dialysis machine) or peritoneal dialysis ( using special solutions infused into the abdomen) or kidney transplantation.

Chronic kidney disease undermines every aspect of a patient’s life. Treatment of kidney disease is financially, socially and emotionally burdensome. The economics is costly and draining to the pocket. Each dialysis session costs P800-8,000 depending on the Hemodialysis Center. Philhealth shoulders P2,600 for only 90 dialysis sessions each year. Adequate hemodialysis means to have regular session twice or thrice a week. Hence, patient spends on average P36,000 a month for hemodialysis plus about P20,000 a month for the maintenance medication. Kidney transplantation cost ranges from P 600,000 (if with Philhealth Z-package) to about 2 million pesos, just for the operation alone. Post-operation medication costs about P12,000 a month.

What our generation needs now is an exodus toward healthy lifestyle. These are the Renal Ten Commandments we need to consciously adhere to in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle for healthy kidneys. 1. Thou shall not smoke. 2. Thou shall not drink alcohol or sugar-sweetened beverages. 3. Thou shall reduce salt and red meat

intake. (Sodium of ≤ 1500mg/day) 4. Thou shall maintain ideal body

weight. (BMI of 18.5-24.9 kg/m2) 5. Thou shall monitor blood pressure

regularly. (BP ≤ 140/90 mm/Hg) 6. Thou shall have adequate physical exercise consistently. (At least 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 days a week for a total of 150 minutes/week) 7. Thou shall drink water sufficiently. (At least 13 cups for men and 9 cups for women) 8. Thou shall have adequate sleep. (7-9

hours a day). 9. Thou shall seek prompt medical advice whenever necessary. 10. Thou shall always maintain a positive disposition in life.

Health is largely in our hands. Let us make that decision to stay healthy and be concerned of our kidneys.