Kidney Disease
One of the biggest challenges of being diabetic is developing kidney
disease – (Nephropathy)
Our kidneys’ main jobs are to remove bio-waste from the blood, regulate fluid content, keep levels of electrolytes like sodium, phosphate and potassium balanced, regulate blood pressure, support red blood cells production, and keep our bones strong.
It is sometimes hard to grasp what our kidneys do to maintain bodily functions. On a daily basis, the kidneys filter about 50 gallons of blood through their 140 miles of tubes in order to produce between 1 and 2 quarts of urine that is composed of waste and extra fluid.
Our total blood supply is filtered by the kidneys about once every five minutes.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure accounting for nearly 44% of new cases.
Diabetes will inevitably lead to a kidney disease. It takes time to develop a kidney disease and it does not happen overnight. For some diabetics, it may take years for diabetes to eventually progress to a kidney disease. Even if you carefully control your sugar levels your kidney disease may progress. It means that your body’s ability to filter bio-waste and regulate fluid will be compromised.
At the first stage, small amounts of blood protein albumin begin to leak into the urine and the kidney’s markers remain in the normal levels with a small standard deviation. As the disease progresses, more albumin leaks into the urine and blood pressure and kidney markers rises.
Studies show that kidney damage rarely occurs in the first 10 years of diabetes and it usually takes 15 to 25 years for kidney failure to occur. The risk of ever developing it decreases for people who live with diabetes for more than 25 years without any signs of kidney failure.
What Can You Do?
Controlling your glucose levels will support your kidney’s health as well.
Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. National Diabetes Statistics, 2007. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008
