Top 10 good habits and lifestyle
Transcript
This is the top 10: good habits that you can start today to improve kidney function and to keep your kidneys healthy.
In this video I’ll show why an healthier lifestyle and healthier kidneys can be as easy as… a walk in the park!
Hello everyone, I’m really excited about today’s video, it’s going to be a little bit different than usual and I hope you’ll like it!
A lot of you asked me “how are you always so happy and always so motivated”… do you have a secret or a trick you can tell us?
Well, actually it’s more than just a secret, it’s ten of them!
Well, honestly I could have made a list of like a hundred of these little good habits that can make your life easier while making you healthier and more motivated in your everyday life!
But I’m only putting in those that can apply to people with kidney disease, so you can try and see if these good habits work for you too!
So today’s video it’s going to be a day in my life, I’ll show you a bit about my lifestyle, you know, my morning routine, what I eat in a day… and I’m thinking of maybe making this a series, but only if you like it! So if you guys enjoyed this video please let me know in the comments below!
Now let’s start with my top 10: these are the best good habits to keep your kidneys healthy and to prevent kidney failure!
Number 10 finding an alternative to NSAIDs
I had a problem with chronic pain and I started taking ktoprofen for it. This is an NSAID like ibuprofen.
When I started to take it I thought that it was a completely harmless habit.
Now, after getting informed a little bit better about NSAIDs and what they do to your body, I can tell you that taking NSAIDs regularly, like I used to do, is really dangerous.
For the kidneys, especially. NSAIDs are nephrotoxic, meaning that they can harm the kidneys.
So taking an ibuprofen or an aspirin as an habit is totally not harmless if you want to keep your kidneys healthy.
What I do instead is
Number 9 relaxation and meditation
Whenever I can I find a quiet place and start to meditate. While this helps me in a lot of spheres of my everyday life, it’s one of the best things you can do to manage chronic pain without taking pills.
Meditation has great calming effects and the overall effect of helping to reduce pain intensity, because it reduces stress.
It’s not hard to start, and it’s absolutely worth the effort.
If you want to try meditation, you can start it like I did.
Find a quiet place and sit with your back straight.
Then you just have to breath regularly and to focus on it.
Just think about your breath and don’t let your mind slip on other thoughts.
I sometimes use a timer, so I don’t have to think about the time.
Even just ten minutes per day work.
Number 8 healthiest good habit, spend some time in the green
Yes, I’m lucky because I live in a place with a lot of nature surrounding me.
But even when I lived in the city I always did my best to find time and ways to spend time in the green.
It’s absolutely one of my favorite things and it helped me a lot in the difficult moments of my life.
Number 7 Take a walk first thing in the morning
Whenever I can I put my alarm ten minutes early in the morning so I can take a little walk outside.
It’s absolutely my favorite way of starting the day.
It has tremendous benefits on my mood and makes me feel great all the day.
The only thing that makes me feel better is exercising.
Number 6 Exercise regularly but don’t overdo it
When I started to exercise regularly, I always had troubles fitting in the gym sessions with my busy schedule.
Until I found an exercise program I can do at home even in the spare moments I have during the day.
Usually I do something like this.
After running a little bit, and doing some warm up, I try to complete this circuit 5 times as fast as I can.
First I do some squats.
Then some crunches.
And some mountain climbers.
As you can see I’m using basically nothing, you just need a yoga mat to complete this workout.
Now, while this is the right amount of intensity for me, it may be too much or too little for you.
The secret with exercising is to never do too much of it.
This is especially true for people with heart problems.
When you start a new exercising program, you may want to go hard and see how it goes.
Don’t do it! Overexerting yourself when you’re not in good shape can lead to serious problems, especially if you have kidney disease or if you are at risk for heart disease.
The secret here is to do it regularly.
Number 5 Hydrate, but not too much.
Being hydrated has a lot of health benefits. It promotes your cardiovascular health and cleanses your body, reducing the workload on the kidneys.
This is why I always bring a bottle of water with me wherever I go.
I know that some days it’s impossible to drink this much, but I try to get as close as I can.
Because, contrary to popular belief, over-hydration was never proven an effective practice in enhancing kidney function.
So you don’t actually need to drink more than about 10-12 cups of water per day.
That’s about two and half liters of water.
But don’t forget to drink during the day, A lot of people live their lives in a state of constant mild dehydration and that’s really bad.
Yes, it happened to me too and I totally noticed the difference on my skin, mostly.
But the hidden problem in the kidneys is even worse.
Water can actually help the kidneys performing their job, it has a powerful detoxing function.
So keep hydrated if you want healthy kidneys and a good looking skin.
Number 4 Time for lunch
I’ll make an … apple sandwich…
let’s slice this apple first and let’s put-in a piece of tomato, some cheese, just a couple of salad leaves…
an hamburger…
Ok, I was just kidding…
but wait! There’s a message here – what I wanted to say is that the best, the healthiest way to start a meal, in my opinion, is with veggies and fruits.
It makes me feel fuller so I eat a little bit less, and fruits always taste great when you’re hungry!
And this can help people with kidney disease too, adding healthy fibers and vitamins like those from… a bell pepper, an eggplant or just and apple at every meal is the best way of benefiting from the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of these superfoods.
Number 3 get a pet
Getting a cat was one of the best decisions in my life.
People always seems to undervalue a person relationship with his pet.
But I feel that having a little pet to care for is one those little things that make life great.
Maybe that’s why pet therapy as a field is growing so fast?
The benefits of having a pet are so many, especially for people with kidney disease or other chronic disease.
Being in contact with a pet will reduce your stress levels, reduce the risk for depression and can even lower blood pressure. And they’re so cute!
Having a cat or a dog is not just gonna make you happier, it will make you healthier.
My life wouldn’t be the same without him.
Number 2 take omega 3 supplements
Here’s another really good habit, useful both for healthy people and for people with kidney disease… at any stage, really.
Just two of these pills a day have so many benefits for the kidneys and overall health.
OMEGA 3s reduce inflammation, lower blood glucose levels, cardiovascular risk and improve bone density.
I’ve incorporated this supplement into my daily routine because it’s really easy to just take two pills a day and there really no side effects.
Obviously if you don’t like to take more pills or if you don’t like supplements you can add foods rich in omega 3s to your diet.
Interestingly enough fishes more rich in omega 3s are those that cost less, because omega 3s come from fish oil and fishes more rich in fat and in oil are usually considered less tasty. We’re talking about mackerel, herring, sardines, anchovies… yes, these are some of the healthiest fishes.
But you can also find omega 3s in chia seeds and flaxseeds.
Number 1 chamomile
Chamomile is probably my secret weapon. It has so many benefits that people wouldn’t even imagine.
Drinking chamomile is a must especially for people suffering from kidney disease and hearth problems.
Want to know more about chamomile? Watch my video about the secret kidney tea!
About the Author
Michaelw Hi, my name is Michael and in this blog I'm gonna share the story of how I got off kidney dialysis for good. Getting off dialysis isn't easy at all, and that's why I'm trying to help people as much as I can.
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