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Top 5 Items To Toss When Spring Cleaning Your Kitchen

If you’re cleaning house this March, start in the kitchen. Besides dust bunnies and canned fruits that have outlived their expiration dates, get ready to clear out some common grocery items that could be wrecking your body’s filter—the kidneys. The kidneys work 24/7 to clean out toxins in the body, so keep them healthy by cleaning out your kitchen. March is National Kidney Month, March 14 is World Kidney Day—the perfect time to trash the following:

March is National Kidney Month, the perfect time to take this simple quiz from the NKF. Check “Yes” or “No” to the questions below:

1. Do you have diabetes?

   Yes

   No

2. Do you have high blood pressure?
   

   Yes

   No

3. Do you have heart disease?
   

   Yes

   No

4. Are you 60 years of age or older?
   

   Yes

   No

5. Is your ethnic background African-American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American or Pacific Islander?
   

   Yes

   No

6. Do you suffer from muscle cramping at night?
   

   Yes

   No

7. Do you have swollen feet and ankles?
   

   Yes

   No

8. Do you have puffiness around the eyes, particularly in the morning?
   

   Yes

   No

9. Do you feel the urge to urinate more often, especially at night?
   

   Yes

   No

10. Do you have unexpected weight loss or gain?
    

    Yes

    No

If you checked YES to any of the above questions, you could be at risk for kidney disease. The leading causes of chronic kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure. How do they cause kidney damage? Diabetes increases pressure inside the kidney's filters. Over a period of time, this pressure damages the filters, which then leak protein into the urine. High blood pressure, or hypertension, means that the pressure of your blood against the walls of your blood vessels increases. If left untreated, hypertension can lead to kidney disease, heart attacks and strokes.

Why are African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans at increased risk for kidney disease? One reason is that diabetes is more common in these groups than in the population at large. African Americans experience a higher incidence of high blood pressure. These groups may have an inherited tendency to develop these diseases.

If you think you may be at risk for kidney disease, askyour doctorfor tests, including blood and urine tests that can determine how well your kidneys are functioning. For more information, check out the three simple tests to check for kidney disease.

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