How Too Much Salt Affects Your Kidney Function

Salt is common in almost every kitchen. It adds flavor and also helps preserve food. While having salt in your food is harmless in small amounts, a diet high in salt can start to negatively affect your health over the years. One of the organs affected the most when it comes to salt consumption is your kidneys

Your kidneys are filters that maintain your body. They excrete waste, balance fluid levels, regulate levels of minerals like sodium and potassium.

 This blog will explore the role of salt in our diet in relation to kidney function, as well as the warning signs that indicate possible kidney damage.

What are the Kidneys Functions and Why They Are Important

When your kidneys’ functions are strong, you experience balance in your body and good health. When the kidneys are under pressure, like all the time from a considerable salt intake, you are slowly damaging them or putting them at risk of losing function.

Eating foods with too much salt causes your blood to keep more water to balance the extra sodium. This increases the pressure in your blood vessels, which requires your heart and kidneys to work more than normal and with constant increase in pressure can ultimately hurt the kidneys. The effect of salt on kidney function can be a slow-moving process, but can certainly be very damaging if it is not monitored.

Excess Salt Intake Can Cause These Problems

High Blood Pressure

Extra salt increases your blood pressure. This is one of the main causes of kidney disease. If you already have kidney issues, in the situation of high blood pressure, your kidney health would be made worse.

Protein in Urine

Too much salt can cause protein leaks in urine. This is an early sign of kidney problems and can be seen on a kidney function urine test

Faster Decline of Kidney Function

If your kidneys are already not functioning well, taking in too much salt could potentially make the loss of kidney function faster.

How much salt is too much salt? 

If you are a healthy adult, you should try not to exceed one teaspoon of salt daily which will equal about 2300 mg sodium. Now patients with kidney disease or high blood pressure may need to eat less salt per day, about 1500mg. 

But salt creeps in surreptitiously. Packaged snacks, instant noodles, sauces, and even bread can have a lot of sodium.

Indications You Might be Consuming Excessive Salt

You likely won’t see symptoms immediately. But over a period of time, you body will show signs of a salt overload:

• Always thirsty
• Swollen hands or feet
• High blood pressure
• Bloating
• Frequent headaches

If you have any of these on the regular it would be wise to see a doctor to monitor your kidney health.

Understanding Salt in Kidney Disease

When you have kidney disease, salt is even more of an issue. Once your kidneys start to slow down, your body cannot eliminate the additional salt as efficiently. Consequently, you may notice increased fluid retention, swelling, and higher blood pressure. In kidney disease, Salt in kidney disease leads to more than discomfort, it worsens damage.

Who Needs More Caution with Salt

• Individuals with high blood pressure
• Anyone with diabetes
• Anyone with a family history of kidney disease
• Individuals with chronic kidney disease
• Older adults

Common Kidney Function Test Name You Should Know

To monitor kidney function, a doctors might recommend the following:

• Serum Creatinine – This tells you how much waste can build up in your blood.
• GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate) – This tells you how well your kidneys are filtering.
• Urine Protein Test – This looks for protein leaks in urine. 
• Electrolyte Test – This looks at your sodium and potassium levels. 

All of these tests are considered to be kidney function tests. Knowing the kidney function test name and what it actually means can make it a bit easier to understand your reports.

How to Reduce Salt Intake in Easy Ways

Making changes to your food does not mean it will lose taste. “You can still eat good food by”

• Cooking at home more often
• Using fresh herbs and spices instead of buying mixes
• Buying food with low-sodium labels
• Not eating anything in a can or a package – no pre-cooked or packaged meals.
• Using less salt on the table
• Eating more fresh fruit, vegies, and grains.

Salt in kidney – Why Is It Important?

Salt in kidney is more than a flavor. It impacts how your body holds, manages fluids, regulates blood pressures, and waste. So now we see, salt in your diet increases the burden on the kidneys. In time, this stress can lead to irrevocable damage to the kidneys.

What is a Kidney Function Urine Test

A kidney function urine test is an assessment used by your doctor to look for indicators like protein, blood, or infection in your urine. The kidney function urine test is easy, painless, and reveals early indicators of your kidney health; if you’re at risk, your doctor will probably get this completed on a regular basis.

When to See Your Doctor

If you have any of the following , you should book a check-up:

• Swelling of hands, feet or face
• High blood pressure
• Frequent urination, or very little urine
• Ongoing fatigue
• Back pain near your bottom ribs

A doctor normally will ask you to get a kidney function test to check how well your kidneys are functioning. The sooner you take action, the easier and more effective your treatment can be.

At Sugam Hospital in Chennai, we appreciate the importance of kidney care. Our top neurologist in Chennai, can provide you complete support for what could be something as simple as urine tests of kidney function, to more advanced, serious conditions. Our kidney specialists are here to help you if you’re generally worried about salt or blood pressure, or if you have any changes in how you feel or your health.