Kidneys are vital for your overall health, and often the most significant cause of disease for enhanced athletes. You will shorten the amount of time you have as a competitive athlete if you do not take care of your kidneys.
Understanding Kidneys and Their Role
The kidneys play a crucial role in filtering your blood to maintain overall fluid, electrolyte, and waste balance in the body.
The kidneys remove waste products from normal body processes, especially:
- Urea – from protein breakdown (produced in the liver from ammonia, which is toxic)
- Creatinine – from muscle metabolism
- Uric acid – from purine metabolism (can form kidney stones if too concentrated)
- Ammonia – very toxic, converted to urea in the liver, then excreted by kidneys
Signs of Poor Kidney Health
- Urine changes – foamy, bloody, less or more frequent, or painful
- Swelling – in feet, ankles, hands, or face (fluid buildup)
- Fatigue – due to low red blood cells (anemia)
- High blood pressure – kidneys help regulate it
The Two Key Components of Kidney Health
1. BLOOD PRESSURE - It is vital that you manage blood pressure to avoid stress on the kidneys. When blood pressure is high, it causes the small blood vessels to scar and narrow in the kidneys. Overtime this limits the kidneys' ability to filter waste.
This is a key component of why older men who have taken steroids are getting so sick, they did not look after their blood pressure.
2. BLOOD SUGAR - High blood sugars can damage kidneys, causing protein to leak into the urine. This is a common cause of chronic kidney disease; however, it is NOT relevant to the younger healthier population of athletes, who almost never have significantly raised glucose levels with significant insulin resistance worth worrying about.
Supplements and Kidney Health
We will never sell products to athletes that aid in blood sugar management, it is simply not required and a WASTE of your money.
The key is to maintain healthy blood pressure levels. Hope that makes sense...