March is National Kidney Month: Let ‘em Know You Care

March is a busy month, not only is it Women’s History Month (hooray women), it’s also National Kidney Month (hooray kidneys).  These paired bean-shaped organs, located in your lower back and roughly the size of your fist, are often the red-headed step-child of vital organs.  In other words, we often take them for granted and just assume they’ll always be there for us…kinda like the same mistake I made with my wife a few years back…we’re better now.

So, what, exactly, do these forgotten workaholics do for us?  Oh, they just filter 200 liters of your blood EVERY day, while removing waste materials.  They also regulate fluid levels within your body, activate vitamin D for healthy bones, direct the production of red blood cells, and regulate your blood pressure.  You know, nothing too important.

Sadly, despite all the important functions they perform for us, we often forget they even exist which results in kidney disease being the 9^th leading cause of death in the U.S.  Additionally, over 30 million people have some form of kidney disease and most do not even know it as symptoms do not reveal themselves until the disease has progressed.  Two other stats for you: over 590,000 individuals have kidney failure in the U.S. and over 95,000 are awaiting a kidney transplant.  Since this is the case, the National Kidney Foundation is offering free kidney screenings for at risk (those with diabetes, family history of kidney disease and high blood pressure) individuals throughout the month.  For locations near you, visit their webpage: https://www.kidney.org/news/monthly/Focus_KidneyMonth

We here at MagicKitchen.com pride ourselves in providing nutritionally appropriate meals for our customers on dialysis as well as renal-friendly meals for those with stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease who do not require dialysis.  Those with chronic kidney disease and those on dialysis both require meals with limited amounts of sodium, salt, potassium and phosphorous.  The primary nutritional difference between the two are that those with chronic kidney disease, but not on dialysis, also require limited amounts of protein as well.

The reason for the limited intake of sodium and salt is to control blood pressure levels.  Less phosphorous is required as diseased and non-functioning kidneys cannot filter out excessive amounts causing phosphorous to build up in your blood which can then leech calcium from your bones, making them weak and brittle.  Potassium can also exceed healthy levels in the blood due to poorly or non-functioning kidneys which can adversely affect nerve and muscle functions and can also cause heart problems.  Finally, for those with chronic kidney disease, protein intake must be limited as protein utilization within the body produces waste material which must then be filtered out by the kidneys and diseased kidneys struggle with this task.  For those on dialysis, the dialysis procedure itself will filter out those waste materials.

If you’re struggling to provide the proper nutritional requirements for yourself or a friend or family member afflicted with chronic kidney disease or on dialysis, MagicKitchen.com is here to help.  We offer numerous dietician-prepared meals, sides and snacks for each category.  For example, here are just a few selections for those with chronic kidney disease (our renal-friendly category): eggplant parmigiana with whole wheat rigatoni or how about roast pork with a ginger glaze, rice pilaf and mushrooms with fresh vegetables?  Check out more sections here: https://www.magickitchen.com/menu/MK-meals-renal.html  As for our dialysis-friendly meals, here are just two meal ideas: chicken patty and penne pasta alfredo with carrots and fiesta corn or crab cakes, brown rice and mixed veggies.  Here are all our dialysis-friendly selections: https://www.magickitchen.com/menu/MK-meals-dialysis.html

Your kidneys are certainly like a lot of things in our homes: we can’t see them and don’t know how they work, but man, once they stop working properly they sure get noticed.  Things on this list include: the roof over our heads that keeps us dry, the basement furnace that keeps us warm, the WIFI connection that allows us to work from home, and the hot water tank that lets us take warm showers.  Yes, I just compared your kidneys to household items, but I think the comparison is appropriate because those items are vital for a properly functioning house just as our kidneys are vital for a properly functioning body, yet we pay them little mind until they break down.  My advice?  Let ‘em know you care by getting them checked out.