Five tips to keep your kidneys healthy

Here are ways to obtain and maintain good kidney health in commemoration of World Kidney Day on the 9th of March 2017.

Tips to keep your kidneys healthy:

• Keep your blood pressure at the target set by your health care provider or by reducing your sodium intake.

• If you have diabetes, control your blood glucose level. Weigh-Less offers an excellent eating plan to help control and in some cases reverse diabetes.

• Choose foods that are healthy for your heart: fresh fruits, fresh or frozen vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods.

• Limit your alcohol intake.

• Be more physically active.

• Carrying around extra body fat isn’t good for you, and losing weight can help prevent kidney disease in otherwise healthy people.

What to eat:

• Berries, such as blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, and raspberries, are packed full of phytonutrients and soluble fibre, all super for heart health!

• Red, yellow and orange vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potato, and red peppers, contain carotenoids, fibre and vitamins to keep your heart in tip-top shape.

• Popeye’s preferred vegetable, spinach, is a heart (and rest of body) wonder food!

• Tomatoes, probably the best food for heart health, contain lycopene, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, all essential for healthy heart functionality.

• Drinking at least one cup of coffee a day, containing caffeine, has been shown to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure.

• Often, your kidneys simply become affected by other medical conditions. The most important thing you can do to keep your kidneys safe is to take care of your body to reduce your chances of developing diseases that put a strain on your kidneys.

Exercise good hearth health:

• Walking/Running

These cardiovascular exercises will really get your heart pumping, and are brilliant for improving your fitness levels.

• Circuit training

This is usually performed at a fitness centre, and can focus on either upper body, lower body, or both! Muscle toning has been linked to decreasing body fat.

• Swimming

You don’t need to swim laps as fast as Chad le Clos to reap the fitness benefits of swimming! Taking to the water will give you a full-body workout while exercising your heart muscle too.

• Yoga

Yoga doesn’t look like much of a workout, but that normally comes from people who have never tried it. Your heart rate is healthily elevated throughout the session, and it will tone and strengthen every muscle in your body!

Related articles:

• Four steps to a better life through better self-care

• How belly fat is linked to erectile dysfunction

Try out these 2 Weigh-Less recipes for healthy kidneys:

1. Roast Butternut Soup – Serves 6

You just need:

1,4kg butternut; 200g onion; 200g red pepper; 300g lean Back Bacon; 30ml Weigh-Less Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 2 cloves garlic; salt and pepper; 5ml thyme; 750ml chicken stock and 90g reduced-fat feta cheese

Peel, core and dice the butternut into 5cm sized chunks and roughly chop the onion and red pepper. Lightly coat a baking tray with non-stick spray. Arrange the butternut, onion, red pepper, garlic and sliced bacon on the baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. 

Gently toss to combine and roast in a 200ºC oven for half an hour, mixing half way through the cooking time. Remove the vegetables from the oven and transfer to a large pot, add the stock, seasoning and thyme and bring to a gentle simmer. Puree with a stick blender. Serve immediately, topped with reduced-fat feta.

Preparation takes 10 minutes. Cooking time is 35 min.

2. Butterbean Brownies – Serves approximately 15

1 x 410g tinned white butter beans; drained; 100 ml fat-free milk; 250ml pie apples; unsweetened; 15ml vanilla essence; 200ml cake flour; 10ml baking powder; 2ml salt; 125ml cocoa powder; 2 eggs; 1 egg white; 250ml Weigh-Less Spoon for Spoon Sugar Replacement, and Weigh-Less Non-Stick Spray

Heat the oven to 180°C and spray an 18cm x 27cm baking tin with non-stick spray. Place the drained beans and half the milk in a food processor and mix until smooth. Add the pie apples and vanilla essence and blend until smooth. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder in a bowl. Beat the eggs and extra egg white in a large bowl.

Add the sweetener powder and mix well.

Add 1/3 of the bean mixture to the egg and sugar mixture, then fold in 1/3 of the sifted dry ingredients. Repeat. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin and level using the back of a spatula. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into equal size pieces, leave to cool in pan.

Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za  or phone us on 011 693 3671.

For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Roodepoort Record, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine

Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!