Kidney

1. Introduction

Few People realize how marveolus the kidneys are. They are actually the complex chemical factories. Capable of filtering the body entire blood supply twenty five times a day. The kidney cleaning the body’s toxic wastes while maintaining the proper balance of salt, acid and water. Chemical wastes and excess water are collected by the kidney and deliver to the bladder in the form of urine. The kidney also help the body’s environment deed and manufacture important hormone which regulate blood pressure and aid production of red blood cells. Although we seldom notice and because they usually work so beautifully, their work is not trully appreciated until they fail. The failure leads to high blood pressure, anemia and piled up of waste in the blood; potentially lifethreaning events

Kidney is one of the most important organ in human body. All vertebretes and some invertebretes have kidney. Human being, as well as all members of all vertebrete species, typically have two kidneys. Human’s kidneys are dark red in color and have a shape in which one side is convex, or rounded, and the other is concave, or indented. Human’s kidneys are about 10 to 13 cm long and about 5-7,5 cm wide. Adult human kidneys are about the size of a computer mouse. Kidneys are located beneath the diaphragm and behind the peritoneum. they lie against the rear wall of the abdomen, on either side of the spine. They are situated below the middle of the back, beneath the liver on the right and

the spleen on the left.

The most important function of kidneys is the removal of poisonous wastes from the blood. Most of these wastes are nitrogen-containing compounds urea and uric acid. Kidneys ability to carry out it’s function in removal wastes, depend on the functional unit of the kidney called nephrons. Together with the bladder, two ureters, and the single urethra, the kidneys make up the body’s urinary system.

2. Structure

a. Renal Capsule

Each kidney is encased in a transparent, fibrous membrane called a renal capsule. This membrane protects the kidney againts trauma and infection. The capsule is composed of tough fibres, chiefly collagen and elastin (fibrous proteins), that helps to support the kidney mass and protect the vital tissue from injury. The capsule receives its blood supply ultimately from the interlobar arteries, small vessels that branch off from the main renal arteries. These vessels travel through the cortex of the kidney and terminate in the capsule. This membrane usually 2 to 3 milimeters thick.

The capsule surrounds the outer walls and enters into a hollow region of the kidney known as the sinus. The sinus contains the major ducts that transport urine and the arteries and veins that supply the tissue with nutriens and oxygen. The capsule connects to these structure within the sinus and lines sinus wall. In a normal person, the capsule is light reddish-purple in colour, translucent, smooth, and glistening. It can usually be easily stripped fro the rest of the kidney’s tissue. A diseased kidney frequently sends fibrous connections from the main body of tissue to the capsule, which makes the capsule adhere more strongly. Difficulty in removing the capsule is noted at autosy as an indication that the kidney was deseased.

b. Renal Cortex

Renal cortex is the outermost layer of the kidney. It is situated between Renal Capsule and Medulla. Upper part of nephron which is Glomerulus and Henle’s loop are situated in this layer. Renal cortex is a strong tissue that protect the inner layer of the kidney. The renal cortex is the outer portion of the kidney between the renal capsule and the renal medulla. In the adult, it forms a continuous smooth outer zone with a number of projections (cortical columns) that extend down between the pyramids. It contains the renal corpuscles and the renal tubules except for parts of the loop of Henle which descend into the renal medulla. It also contains blood vessels and cortical collecting ducts. The renal cortex is the part of the kidney where ultrafiltration occurs.

c. Renal Medulla (Renal Pyramids)

Renal Medulla lies beneath the Cortex. It is an area that contains between 8 and 18 cone-shaped section known as pyramids, which are formed almost entirely of bundles of microscopic tubules. The tips of these pyramids point toward the centre of the kidney. These tubules transport urine from the cortical, or outer, part of the kidney, where urine is produced, to the calyces, or cup-chaped cavities in which urine collects before it passes through the ureter to the bladder. Space between the pyramids filled by cortex and forms structures called renal columns.

The tips of each pyramid, called the papilla, point toward to the calyx at centre of the kidney. The surface of the papilla has a sievelike appearance because of the many small openings from which urine droplets pass. Each opening represents a tubule called the duct of Bellini,

into which collecting tubules within the pyramid converge. Muscles fibres lead from the calyx to the papilla. As the muscle fibres of the calyx contract, urine flows through the ducts of Bellini into the calyx. The urine then flows to the bladder by way of the renal pelvis and ureter.

d. Renal Pelvis

Renal Pelvis is extend in the center of each kidney as the tube through which urine flows from the kidney to the urinary bladder. The shape of renal pelvis is like a funnel that is curved to one side. Renal pelvis is almost completely enclosed in the deep indentation on the concave side of the kidney, the sinus. The large end of the pelvis has roughly cuplike extension, called calyces. The calyces’ are cavities in which urine collects before it flows on the urinary bladder.

Renal pelvis is lined with a moist mucous-membrane layer that is only a few cells thick; the membrane is attached to a thicker coating of smooth muscle fibres, which, in turn, is surrounded by a layer of connective tissue. The mucous membrane of the pelvis is somewhat folded so that there is some room for tissue expansion when urine distends the pelvis. The muscle fibres are arranged in a longitudinal and a circular layer. Contractions of the muscle layers occur in periodic waves known as peristaltic movement. This movement push urine from the pelvis into the ureter and bladder. The lining of the pelvis and of the ureter is impermeable to the normal substances found in urine; thus, the walls of these structures do not absorb fluids.

e. Renal Vein and Renal Artery

Two of the body’s crucial blood vessels, renal vein and renal artery. This two vessel are branch of from the abdominal aorta (the abdominal portion of the major artery leading from the heart) and enter into each kidney by attach to the concave part of the kidney.

At the inner concavity of each kidney there is an opening, known as the hilum, through which the renal artery passes. After passing through the hilum, the renal artery divides ordinarily into two large branches, and each branch divides into a number of smaller arteries, which bring blood to the nephrons, the functioning units of the kidney. Blood that has been processed by the nephrons ultimately reaches the renal vein, which carries it back to the inferior vena cava and to the right side of the heart.

The renal arteries deliver to the kidneys of a normal person at rest 1.2 litres of blood per minute, a volume equivalent to approximately one-quarter of the heart’s output. Thus, a volume of blood equal to all that found in the body of an adult human being is processed by the kidneys once every four to five minutes. Although some physical condition can inhibit blood flow, there are certain self-regulatory mechanisms inherent to the arteries of the kidney that allow some adaptation to stress.

When the total body blood pressure rises or drop, sensory receptors of the nervous system located in the smooth muscle wall of the arteries are affected by the pressure changes, and, to compensate for the blood pressure variations, the arteries either expand or contract to keep a constant volume of blood flow.

f. Nephron

The most important function of kidneys is to remove waste substances from the blood. Nephrons are the functional unit of the kidney in performing this task. Nephrons produce urine in the process of removing waste and excess substances from the blood. There are about 1.000.000 nephrons in each human kidney. These remarkable structure extend between the cortex and the medulla. Under magnification, nephrons look like tangles of tiny vessels or tubules, but each nephron actually has an orderly arrangement that makes possible filtration of wastes from the blood. Each nephron in the mammalian kidney is about 30-55 mm long. At one end of nephron is closed, expanded and folded into a double-walled cuplike structure. This structure, called the corpuscular capsule, or Bowman’s capsule. This capsule enclose glomerulus, the nephron’s primary structure in filtering function.

Structure of nephron explained in detail below:

1). Glomerulus

The glomerulus is the main filter of the nephron and is located within the Bowman's capsule. A glomerulus and its surrounding Bowman's capsule constitute a renal corpuscle, the basic filtration unit of the kidney. From the Bowman’s Capsule, extends a narrow vessel, called the proximal convoluted tubule. This tubule twists and turns until it drains into a collecting tubule that carries urine toward the renal pelvis.

Glomerulus is a network of extremely thin blood vessels called capillaries. The glomerulus resembles a twisted mass of tiny tubes through which the blood passes. The glomerulus is semipermeable, allowing water and soluble wastes to pass through and be excreted out of the Bowman's capsule as urine. The filtered blood passes out of the glomerulus into the Efferent arteriole to be returned through the

medullary plexus to the intralobular vein. A large volume of ultrafiltrate is produced by the glomerulus into the capsule. As this liquid traverses the proximal convoluted tubule, most of its water and salts are reabsorbed, some of the solutes completely and others partially. A glomerulus is a capillary tuft surrounded by Bowman's capsule in nephrons. It receives its blood supply from an afferent arteriole of the renal circulation. Unlike most other capillary beds, the glomerulus drains into an efferent arteriole rather than a venule. The resistance of the arterioles results in high pressure in the glomerulus aiding the process of ultrafiltration where fluids and soluble materials in the blood are forced out of the capillaries and into Bowman's capsule. The rate at which blood is filtered through all of the glomeruli, and thus the measure of the overall renal function, is the glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

2) Henle’s Loop

Henle’s Loop is part of renal tubule which become extremely narrow that extending down away from Bowman’s capsule and then back up again form a U shape. Surrounding loop of Henle and the other parts of the renal tubule is a network of capillaries, which are formed from a small blood vessel that branches out from glomerulus. The liquid entering the loop is the solution of salt, urea, and other substances passed along from glomerulus by proximal convoluted tubule. In this tubule, most of the dissolved components needed by the body; particularly glucose, amino acids, and sodium bicarbonate, is reabsorbed into the blood. The first segment of the loop, the descending limb, is permeable to water, and the liquid reaching the bend of the loop is much richer than the blood plasma in salt and urea. As the liquid returns through the ascending limb, sodium chloride diffuses out of the tubule into the surrounding tissue, where its concentration is lower. In the third segment of the loop, the tubule wall can, if necessery, effect further removal of salt, even against the concentration gradient, in an active-transport process requiring the expenditure of energy. In a healty person the reabsorption of salt from the urine exactly maintains the bodily requirement: during periods of low salt intake, none is allowed to escape in the urine, but, in periods of high salt intake, the excess is excreted.

3) Renal Collecting Tubule

Also called Duct of Bellini, any of the long narrow tubes in the kidney that concentrate and transport urine from the nephrons, to larger ducts that connect with the renal calyces. The liquid from the loop of Henle get into the Distal Convoluted Tubule in which reabsorbtion of sodium continues throughout the whole distal tubule. This reabsorbtion extends to the early part of the Renal Collecting Tubule. Each collecting tubule is about 20-22 milimetres long and 20-50 microns in diameter. The walls of the tubule are composed of cell with hairlike projection, flagellae, in the tube’s channel. Motions of the flagellae help to move secretion through the tubes. As the collecting tubes become wider in diameter, the cells increase in height so that the wall becomes thicker. The function of the collecting tubes are transportation of urine and absorbtion of water. It is

thought that the tissue of the kidney’s medulla, or inner substance, contains a high concentration of sodium. As the collecting tubule travel through the medulla, the concentration of sodium causes water to be extracted through the tubule walls into the medulla. The water diffuses out between the collecting wall cells until the concentration of sodium is equal in the tubes and outside them. Removal of water from the solution in the tubes serves to concentrate the urine content and conserve body water.

3. Functions

1. Urine Production And Blood Filtration

(1) Blood with waste enters the kidney through the renal artery. The artery divides into smaller and smaller blood vessels, called arterioles, eventually ending in the tiny capillaries of the glomerulus in each of the Nephrons.

(2) The Blood in kidney get into glomerulus through Affarent Arteriole. In glomerulus, blood travel through twist and turn capilaries. The capillary walls here are quite thin, and the blood pressure within the capillaries is high. The result is that water, along with any substances that may be dissolved in it—typically salts, glucose or sugar, amino acids, and the waste products urea and uric acid—are pushed out through the thin capillary walls, where they are collected in Bowman's capsule. Larger particles in the blood, such as red blood cells and protein molecules, are too bulky to pass through the capillary walls and they remain in the bloodstream. The blood, which is now filtered, leaves the glomerulus through Everent Arteriole, which branches into the meshlike network of blood vessels around the renal tubule. The blood then exits the kidney through the renal vein. Approximately 180 liters (about 50 gallons) of blood moves through the two kidneys every day.

(3) Urine production begins with the substances that the blood leaves behind during its passage through the kidney—the water, salts, and other substances collected from the glomerulus in Bowman’s capsule. This liquid, called glomerular filtrate, moves from Bowman’s capsule through Proximal Convulated Tubule. As the filtrate flows through the renal tubule, the network of blood vessels surrounding the tubule reabsorbs much of the water, salt, and virtually all of the nutrients, especially glucose and amino acids, that were removed in the glomerulus. This important process, called tubular reabsorption, enables the body to selectively keep the substances it needs while ridding itself of wastes. Eventually, about 99 percent of the water, salt, and other nutrients is reabsorbed. This process happens in Henle’s Loop.

(4) At the same time that the kidney reabsorbs valuable nutrients from the glomerular filtrate, it carries out an opposing task, called tubular secretion. In this process, unwanted substances from the capillaries surrounding the nephron are added to the glomerular filtrate. These substances include various charged particles called ions, including ammonium, hydrogen, and potassium ions. The secretion of potassium by the distal tubule is one of the most important events in the dikney as its control is fundamental to the maintance of overall potassium balance.

(5) Together, glomerular filtration, tubular reabsorption, and tubular secretion produce urine, which flows into collecting ducts, which guide it into the microtubules of the pyramids. The urine is then stored in the renal cavity and eventually drained into the ureters, which are long, narrow tubes leading to the bladder. From the roughly 180 liters (about 50 gallons) of blood that the kidneys filter each day, about 1.5 liters (1.3 qt) of urine are produced.

2. Body’s Water Volume Regulator

Other kidney’s essential function is to regulate the amount of water contained in the blood. This process is influenced by antidiuretic hormone (ADH), also called vasopressin, which is produced in the hypothalamus (a part of the brain that regulates many internal function) and stored in the nearby pituitary gland. Receptors in the brain monitor the blood’s water concentration. When the amount of salt and other substance in the blood becomes to high, the pituitary gland release ADH into the bloodstream.

The blood contained ADH from the brain flow and get into the kidney. In the presence of ADH the renal tubules and colecting ducts become freely permeable to solute and water. It cause more water reabsorbed into the bloodstream. On the other hand in the absence of ADH the collecting ducts are impermeable to solute and water; thus, the fluid in the lumen, from which some solute has been remove, remains less concentrated than plasma; the urine is dilute.

3. Blood Pressure Regulator

Regulating blood pressure is linked to the kidneys' ability to excrete enough sodium chloride (salt) to maintain normal sodium balance, extracellular fluid volume and blood volume. Kidney disease is the most common cause of secondary hypertension (high blood pressure). Even minor disruptions in kidney function play a role in most (if not all) cases of high blood pressure and increased injury to the kidneys. This injury can eventually cause malignant hypertension, stroke or even death.

In normal people, when there's a higher intake of sodium chloride (salt), the body adjusts. It excretes more sodium without raising arterial pressure. However, many outside influences can reduce the kidneys' ability to excrete sodium. If the kidneys are less able to excrete salt with normal or higher salt intake, chronic increases in extracellular fluid volume and blood volume result. This leads to high blood pressure. When there is an increase in hormones and neurotransmitters that cause blood vessels to narrow, even small increases in blood volume are compounded. (This is due to the smaller area of blood vessel through which the blood is forced to flow.) Although the increases in arterial pressure lead the kidneys to excrete more sodium (which restores the sodium balance), higher pressure in the arteries may persist. This shows the important link between kidney disease and high blood pressure.

The hormone aldosterone, produced by the adrenal glands, interacts with the kidneys to regulate the blood’s sodium and potassium content. High amounts of aldosterone cause the nephrons to reabsorb more sodium ions, more water, and fewer potassium ions; low levels of aldosterone have the reverse effect. The kidney’s responses to aldosterone help keep the blood’s salt levels within the narrow range that is best for crucial physiological activities. Aldosterone also helps regulate blood pressure. When blood pressure starts to fall, the kidney releases an enzyme (a specialized protein) called renin, which converts a blood protein into the hormone angiotensin. This hormone causes blood vessels to constrict, resulting in a rise in blood pressure. Angiotensin then induces the adrenal glands to release aldosterone, which promotes sodium and water to be reabsorbed, further increasing blood volume and blood pressure.

4. Body’s Acid Base Balance

The kidney also adjusts the body’s acid base balance to prevent such blood disorders as acidosis and alkalosis, both of which impair the functioning of the central nerveous system. If the blood is too acidic, meaning that there is an excess of hydrogen ions, the kidney moves these ions to the urine through the process of tubular secretion.

5. Production of Hormones

1) Erythropoietin

Several hormones are produced in the kidney. One of these, erythropoietin, influences the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow. When the kidney detects that the number of red blood cells in the body is declining, it secretes erythropoietin. This hormone travels in the bloodstream to the bone marrow, stimulating the production and release of more red cells. Erythropoietin is a glycoprotein. It acts on the bone marrow to increase the production of red blood cells. Stimuli such as bleeding or moving to high altitudes (where oxygen is scarcer) trigger the release of EPO. People with failing kidneys can be kept alive by dialysis. But dialysis only cleanses the blood of wastes. Without a source of EPO, these patients suffer from anemia. Now, thanks to recombinant DNA technology, recombinant human EPO is available to treat these patients. Because EPO increases the hematocrit, it enables more oxygen to flow to the skeletal muscles. Some cyclists (and distance runners) have used recombinant EPO to enhance their performance. Although recombinant EPO has exactly the same sequence of amino acids as the natural hormone, the sugars attached by the cells used in the pharmaceutical industry differ from those attached by the cells of the human kidney. This difference can be detected by a test of the athlete's urine. Prolonged exposure to reduced oxygen levels (e.g., living at high altitude) leads to increased synthesis of EPO. In mice, and perhaps in humans, this effect is mediated by the skin. Mouse skin cells can detect low levels of oxygen ("hypoxia") and if this persists, blood flow to the kidneys diminishes leading to increased synthesis of EPO by them. Recently it has been found that EPO is also synthesized in the brain when oxygen becomes scarce there (e.g., following a stroke), and helps protect neurons from damage. Perhaps recombinant human EPO will turn out to be useful for stroke victims as well.

2) Calcitriol

Calcitriol is 1,25[OH]2 Vitamin D3, the active form of vitamin D. It is derived from calciferol (vitamin D3) which is synthesized in skin exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun

precursors ("vitamin D") ingested in the diet. Calciferol in the blood is converted into the active vitamin in two steps: i. calciferol is converted in the liver into 25[OH] vitamin D3 ii. this is carried to the kidneys (bound to a serum globulin) where it is converted into calcitriol. This final step is promoted by the parathyroid hormone (PTH). Calcitriol acts on the cells of the intestine to promote the absorption of calcium from food. Calcitriol acts also in the bone to mobilize calcium from the bone to the blood Calcitriol enters cells and, if they contain receptors for it (intestine cells do), it binds to them. The calcitriol receptors are zinc-finger transcription factors. Insufficient calcitriol prevents normal deposition of calcium in bone. In childhood, this produces the deformed bones characteristic of rickets. In adults, it produces weakened bones causing osteomalacia.The most common causes are inadequate amounts of the vitamin in the diet or insufficient exposure to the sun.However, some rare inherited cases turn out to be caused by inheriting two mutant genes for the kidney enzyme that converts 25[OH] vitamin D3 into calcitriol.Other cases of inherited rickets (also very rare) are caused by inheriting two defective genes for the calcitriol receptor. Mutations that change the amino acids in one or another of the zinc fingers interfere with binding to the DNA of the response element.

4. Kidney Desease

1. Pyelonephritis

infection and inflammation of the kidney tissue and the renal pelvis (the cavity formed by the expansion of the upper end of the ureter, the tube that conveys urine to the bladder). The infection is usually bacterial. The most common type of renal disorder, pyelonephritis may be chronic or acute. Acute pyelonephritis generally affects one specific region of the kidney, leaving the rest of the kidney structure untouched. In many instances pyelonephritis develops without any apparent precipitating cause. Any obstruction to the flow of blood or urine, however, may make the kidneys more susceptible to infection, and fecal soiling of the urethral opening is thought to increase the incidence of the disease in infants (the urethra is the channel for urine from the bladder to the outside). Women may suffer injury of the urinary passages during intercourse or pregnancy, and catheterization (mechanical draining of urine) can cause infection.

2. Glomerulonephritis

Glomerulonephritis, another common kidney disease, is characterized by inflammation of some of the kidney's glomeruli. This condition may occur when the body’s immune system is impaired. Antibodies and other substances form large particles in the bloodstream that become trapped in the glomeruli. This causes inflammation and prevents the glomeruli from working properly. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, swelling of body tissues, and the presence of protein in the urine, as determined by laboratory tests. Glomerulonephritis often clears up without treatment. When treatment is necessary, it may include a special diet, immunosuppressant drugs, or plasmapheresis, a procedure that removes the portion of the blood that contains antibodies.

Glomerulonephritis is the disorder commonly known as nephritis, or Bright's disease. The primary impact of the disease is on the vessels of the glomerular tuft. The suffix “-itis” suggests an inflammatory lesion, and glomerulonephritis is indeed associated with infection, in the limited sense that it may begin soon after a streptococcal infection and may be aggravated in its later course by infections of various kinds. Nevertheless, there is convincing evidence that glomerulonephritis does not represent a direct attack on the kidney by an infective agent; it appears to be, rather, an immunologic disorder, in the sense of the formation of antibodies in response to the presence of a foreign protein (antigen) elsewhere in the body; these form antigen–antibody complexes that lodge in the glomerular tuft or, in a small number of cases, themselves become deposited on the capillary glomerular walls. In each case the antibody or the antigen–antibody complex reaches the kidney via the circulation, and the mechanism is usually referred to as circulating complex disease.

3. Kidney Stone

also called Renal Calculus, plural Renal Calculi, concretion of minerals and organic matter that forms in the kidneys. Such stones may become so large as to impair normal renal function. Urine contains many salts in solution and if the concentration of mineral salts becomes excessive, the excess salt precipitates as solid particles called stones. Kidney stones are classified as primary if they form without apparent cause, such as an infection or obstruction. They are classified as secondary if they develop after a renal infection or disorder.

Certain circumstances increase the likelihood of stone formation. Either a reduction in fluid volume or a surge in mineral concentration can be enough to upset the delicate balance between the liquid and its solutes. Once a stone starts developing, it generally continues to grow. A nucleus for precipitation of urinary salts can be a clump of bacteria, degenerated tissue, sloughed-off cells, or a tiny blood clot. Minerals start collecting around the foreign particle and encrusting it. As the stone increases in size, the surface area available for additional mineral deposition is continually increased. Smaller kidney stones can pass out of the body on their own, although this can be painful. Larger stones may require surgery, or they may be broken into smaller pieces with sound waves in a procedure called ultrasonic lithotripsy.

4. Kidney Failure

also called Renal Failure, partial or complete loss of kidney function. Kidney failure is classified as acute (when the onset is sudden) or chronic.

Acute kidney failure results in reduced output of urine, abnormally high levels of nitrogenous substances, potassium, sulfates, and phosphates in the blood, and abnormally low blood levels of sodium, calcium, and carbon dioxide (see uremia). Ordinarily the affected person recovers in six weeks or less.

Causes of kidney failure include destruction of the tubules in the kidney by drugs or organic solvents such as carbon tetrachloride, acetone, and ethylene glycol; exposure to compounds of metals such as mercury, lead, and uranium; physical injuries or major surgery causing much loss of blood or an increase in blood pressure; severe burns; and incompatible blood transfusions. Renal failure can also result from diseases that destroy the cortex (outer substance) of the kidney; from severe bacterial infections of the kidney; from diabetes that

causes destruction of the medulla (the inner substance) of the kidney; and from overabundance of calcium salts in the kidneys.

Blockage of the renal arteries, liver diseases, and obstruction of the urinary tract produce acute failure; on rare occasions, kidney failure can occur without apparent symptoms. Complications that arise from kidney failure include heart failure, pulmonary edema, and an overabundance of potassium in the body. Chronic renal failure is usually the result of prolonged diseases of the kidney. In chronic failure the blood becomes more acidic than normal and there can be loss of calcium from the bones. Nerve degeneration can also occur.

5. How Keeping Healthy Kidney

Most people have been told that it is important to drink 8-10 glasses of good water a day. Urine should be 96% or better of water in order to flush all the sediment out of the kidneys. It is almost impossible to get good water today. Experts suggest that people only drink water purified by a reverse osmosis system. Even Reverse Osmosis (R.O.) water needs to be kept refrigerated. Many people are buying bottled water. When water is stagnant it breeds bacteria unless it is distilled or chemically treated. Chemicals used to purify the water are linked with kidney disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and more. Distilled water is unstable molecularly. The process of distilling encourages Hydrogens to share an oxygen molecule. Some natural healers say that before anyone has ANY SYMPTOMS of kidney problems they can have at LEAST 60% KIDNEY DAMAGE, so it's very important to strive to keep them healthy.

It is still called H2O or Water, but everything in nature tries to stabilize itself including distilled water. As the unstable water passes through the urinary system, especially the kidneys it will draw out oxygen which, with prolong use, can weaken the kidneys. I don't believe that anything not found in that state in nature be considered totally safe.

A high quality spring water, should be a good source as well. Water drawn from pure springs not refrigerated will breed bacteria no matter how sterile looking the bottle. Some people say "The top of the water cooler isn't refrigerated but as it comes out it passes a cooling system." What they are drinking then is cold bacteria. If you had piece of meat out for days or weeks could you make it safe by refrigerating it right before you eat it?

Many a public water system has been laced with fluoride to strengthen our teeth. This Fluoride can alter the brain function and can destroy your kidneys. You can buy a new set of teeth much easier than going through a kidney transplant.

Another important aspect in keeping healthy kidneys is to keep all of the other eliminating systems functioning properly. The 2.4 million nephrons inside the kidney filter the blood. If the bowel, liver, or the skin is not functioning properly the blood will be more toxic and will cause more acid than the kidneys are designed to handle. Many with gout will attest to this fact. Probably what causes the most abuse to the kidneys are:

COFFEE, TEA AND SODA. Some people think that it's the caffeine in these drinks that is hard on the kidneys and joints. Caffeine is not good for you, but it is the tannic

acid that damages the kidneys. Another real offender is artificial colored sugar water. Carbonation is also very hard on the kidneys.

DON'T DRINK COFFEE, TEA, SODA, AND ARTIFICIAL COLORED DRINKS. CUT OUT ALL MILK PRODUCTS AND LIMIT RED MEATS.

Do drink good water, juices and herbal teas. Keep your cholesterol level below 5.5 Maintain a healthy body mass index. Obesity poses a significant risk when it comes to

kidney disease. Do 30 minutes of exercise daily, a moderate intensity walk is adequate for general

well being. Do not smoke. Smokers have a much greater risk of kidney disease. Eat a healthy, well balanced diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean

meat. Reduce your consumption of fast food and high fat food. Keep your blood pressure below 130/90. High blood pressure (known as

hypertension) can cause kidney disease. Take preventive measures against getting type 2 diabetes or if you have diabetes

manage it well. Diabetes can cause kidney disease. Avoid taking unnecessary medications-drugs like lithium and cyclosporine in

particular can lead to kidney failure. Drink at least two liters of fluid each day, preferably water. If you don't drink enough

water to produce adequate urine it can lead to urinary tract infections which can cause kidney stones to develop.

Consider having your kidney function tested regularly if you feel you are at risk of kidney disease. Kidney function can be reduced to 80-90% before any physical symptoms develop.

To maintain a healthy liver and kidneys it is important to eat healthy and drink plenty of water daily.

Fruits and vegetables is very helpful for remove the waste from the bloodstream. Eat wide range of fruits and vegetables. The easy way to remember to eat a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables is to do the rainbow color of the variety in choosing something from all the different colors of fruits and vegetables.

Eating a wide range of healthy foods will give you more of the nutritional intake of a better balanced diet. In addition consider expanding your horizon of new types of healthy food categories that are on your pyramid diet plan. The antioxidants in the Rainbow Colored choices to make so you can have some of every color in your regular diet with the intake of your fruits and vegetables might safe guard you against certain illnesses and diseases;such as cancer and will keep your immune system stronger especially during cold and flu season.

Drink 2 liters of a day. Get can be filtered water, distilled or mineral. Just as long as it is free of chlorine and other chemicals that are in unfiltered tap water.

Eat 5 servers of fruits and vegetables daily. The bulk of your food intake should consist of whole grain foods and legumes. The smaller portions should consist of (preferably) low fat diary products, fish once or

twice a week in small portions (as to not get to much heavy metels or mercury in the diet), skinless poultry and lean meat and nuts.

Count calories. Watch your calorie intake and keep it at or below the standard amount for your height and weight. Lower calories intake if you are obese.

Obesity increases a persons risk for Liver Disease. In America there are 74% of the population 25 years and older are overweight. Having an excess of fat on the body effects the internal organs by making them harder to function properly.

Alcohol increases the risk of Liver Disease, Hepatitis by 50% and Cirrhosis by 15 to 30%.

Drugs play a major role in the damage to the liver and kidneys as well as the overall wellbeing of the individuals life.

Regular exercise helps the organs by stretching them as you workout and thereby strengthening them. Exercise no less than 3 times a week Walking, running, jogging, swimming, hiking, aerobics and other forms of fitness training that will keep you in shape will benefit the internal organs as well as increase years to your life. Choose to exercise by fitness activities that you enjoy doing or are more out to do. If it is walking than walk with a friend(s). Join a Fitness Club, YMCA, or a sports activity. It is never to late to start playing baseball, soccer or jogging a jogging team. Stick to stuff you like to do and that will increase your success rate of maintaining an active regular fitness program.