While my body presents lots of challenges, it also has me in complete awe. The moment something doesn’t work correctly, you become aware of just how amazing its function was…all without having to consciously think about anything.
Day-in-and-day-out our bodies work tirelessly to do millions of huge and tiny things to keep us walking and talking and thinking and digesting and healing and playing and everything else we do.
It is truly miraculous! Today, I’d like to say how grateful I am for my kidney (I was born with just one). I’ve got approximately 19% kidney function (15% is considered kidney failure) and still this workhorse of an organ is allowing me to live a full and productive life. It blows my mind! So, now I’d like to blow your mind with 7 cool things that the kidneys do.
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- Filters 200 quarts of blood…every day! Of those 200 quarts, the kidneys excrete 2 quarts of waste products and water. Your kidney acts like a very sophisticated coffee filter. It lets the good stuff through and sends the toxic stuff to be eliminated in your urine. This means that when you take medication, drink alcohol, regenerate tissues, build muscle or digest food your kidney knows what should stay and what has to go.
- Contributes to the production of red blood cells. The kidney sends the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) to your bone marrow to make more red blood cells which helps to oxygenate your blood.
- Regulates blood pressure by releasing the hormone rennin.
- Activates vitamin D. The vitamin D that we get from the sun and food needs to be activated before it can help us keep a balance of calcium and phosphorous to maintain healthy bones.
- Maintains the proper acid-base balance of your blood by filtering out excess acid to maintain a pH between 7.35 and 7.45.
- Maintains the proper balance of potassium which helps regulate fluid balances within and outside organs.
- It doesn’t complain until it really needs help. Symptoms don’t show up until relatively late in the kidney disease game. This means that it is important to keep tabs on your blood pressure and kidney function with the help of your doctor.
Kidneys are pretty special, and I am beyond grateful for the one I have.
Learn more about your kidneys at: http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/yourkidneys/
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