If you’re a little clueless when it comes to anatomy, you could be rolling your eyes at World Kidney Day. But check this: your kidneys are the MVPs of making sure your cheat meal, complete with cheesy fries, a triple-decker meat supreme pizza with a side of death-by-chocolate ice cream is filtered through your bloodstream so the harmful, useful things end up in your urine. Plus, once you’re in kidney failure, you’re in it for life, unless you happen to qualify for a transplant, which is highly unlikely.
If you’re proud to be #glutenfree, #sugarfree and #healthyAF, some hidden habits could still land you in the hospital with kidney failure. Watch out for these damaging signs.
READ MORE: 4 Everyday Pill Combinations You Didn’t Know Are Seriously Dangerous
Taking Strong Meds
If a doc writes you a script for strong meds, like ones for stomach ulcers or painkillers, stick to the recommended dosage and don’t take it longer than you’re meant to. Taking it over a longer period of time means you’re reducing blood flow to the kidneys, hampering its function.
READ MORE: Selena Gomez Just Revealed She Had A Kidney Transplant
Going on a Juice Cleanse for Too Long
Subsisting only on fruit and vegetable juices for one to ten days is super popular. But in one case, published in the American Journal of Medicine, one patient drank nothing but juice (made from beetroot, collard greens, kiwi, parsley and spinach) for six weeks. The high vitamin C intake, compounded by the liquid diet, landed him in renal failure.
Taking Dodgy Libido Supplements
Researchers found that products sold online contain ingredients with alluring street names that can be quite dangerous: Bufotenin (a.k.a. “love stone”) from the venom of Bufo toads is a poison that can be lethal; cantharides from dried beetles (or “Spanish fly”) can inflame sex organs and cause kidney failure. Best stick to oysters…
Want more? Here are scary signs you’re addicted to your meds, plus here’s why you always have to pee in the morning.
