Your Kidneys and Diabetes

Being too sweet can keep your kidneys’ health at stake- Diabetes and its complications. Diabetes is considered the primary cause of kidney failure; researchers have found that people suffering from diabetes are vulnerable to experiencing kidney-related complications at some point in their life. India is the abode of over 77 million diabetic patients, making it the world's second most affected nation, after China- this sums up that one in a group of every six people is suffering from diabetes in India.

Not so sweet!

Do you know that having uncontrolled blood sugar levels (diabetes) can also keep your kidneys at stake? High blood sugar levels can severely affect your kidneys' functioning, and the worst part is that you will never see that disease prowling around your kidneys to impair their functioning. Diabetes can whole or partially affect your kidneys' functioning and will only get noticed when you have already lost half of your kidneys' functioning. Diabetes targets the whole body but mostly damages the kidneys.

ayurvedic treatment for protein in urine

Before we know how exactly diabetes affects kidneys, let us take a close look at the term "Diabetes", its causes, and symptoms that come along with it.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a very common but serious health condition in which the blood sugar levels of your body mounts up to the danger mark that triggers various physical and psychological abnormalities in your body, such as -

• Nerve damage (neuropathy)
• Cardiovascular disease
• Eye damage (retinopathy)
• Foot damage
• Depression
• Alzheimer's disease
• Anxiety or depression
• Skin conditions
• Irreversible kidney damage

Diabetes happens when your body is unable to make enough insulin or cannot make the proper use of insulin to lower control the sugar level in your body. Insulin is a vital hormone produced by the pancreas that allows glucose from the food we eat to get absorbed by cells into the form of energy. In simple terms, insulin helps break down glucose (sugar) in the form of energy that is further used by every cell, tissue, and organ of your body for various bodily processes.

What does a diabetic patient experience?

People suffering from diabetes never felt any complications or symptoms at the initial stages. Diabetes is a progressive health ailment that gets severe over time. Diabetes gives very mild symptoms that mostly go unnoticed in your monotonous life. The symptoms may include the following-

• Blurred vision
• Increased thirst
• Unexplained weight loss
• Slow-healing sores
• Fatigue
• Extreme hunger
• Having ketones in the urine
• Frequent urges to pass urine

What causes diabetes?

The rapid inclination of people towards a sedentary lifestyle with a poor diet leads to excessive weight gain, which often leads to many serious health conditions, such as diabetes. Studies have shown that people who are obese or overweight are vulnerable to have diabetes because their bodies are not able to make the right use of insulin. Other conditions that can cause high sugar levels in the body are -

• Excessive weight
• Sedentary or inactive lifestyle
• Age factor
• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• High blood pressure
• Having a family history of diabetes
• Abnormal cholesterol level
• Uncontrolled blood pressure
• Gestational diabetes (baby that weighs more than 4KG are at risk of having type 2 diabetes

How can diabetes affect your kidneys?

In diabetes, less or no insulin production in the body increases the level of sugar in the bloodstream, makes the blood thick and hard to move freely around your body. This condition demands extra work from the kidneys to filter the blood. Because of being overworked, the nephrons (glomeruli) inside your kidneys develop inflammation, leading to a temporary or permanent loss of kidney function. Unfiltered blood can trigger all causes of mortality by leading you to various serious health complications, such as heart attack, brain tumor, stroke, and irreversible kidney problems.

Are kidney problems dangerous?

Yes, kidney failure is a cause for concern because they filter around 200 liters of blood every day without any gap. Blood is the life-giving fluid that transports nutrients and oxygen throughout your body to maintain your body's optimal functioning. Every cell, tissue and organ in your body needs blood to perform various bodily processes essential to keep you alive and functioning.

How can we detect kidney failure?

Like diabetes, chronic kidney failure is also a cumulative loss of kidneys' functioning that takes decades to get severe. A person with CKD might notice visible signs of kidney dysfunction after 30 to 40% of their kidneys. The symptoms may include the following -

• Blood in urine
• Having frequent urges to pass urine
• Loss of appetite
• Sudden weight loss without even trying
• Having foamy and bubbly urine
• Itching and dry skin
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling exhausted
• Confusion
• Feeling pressure or pain in the chest
• Muscle twitching
• Peeing less than normal
• Fever
• Rash
• Nosebleed
• Swelling, joint pain
• Come in severe cases

Can we save ourselves from kidney failure at the end stage?

Allopathy has no cure for kidney failure at stage 5, but Ayurveda can surely do something about it. The Ayurvedic treatment for kidney failure is even proven effective in reversing kidney complications at the end-stage. The treatment uses various combinations of natural herbs that work to remove obstruction or swelling occurring inside your kidneys and interfere with your kidneys' functioning.