Kidneys are remarkable organs that keep the body healthy in many ways, including cleaning waste products from the blood and releasing important hormones into the blood.
Healthy kidneys filter about 200 liters of blood a day, as well as help regulate blood pressure and direct the production of red blood cells.
But they can be damaged by diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure and even the use of some over-the-counter medications and supplements.
Let's find out more interesting facts about this body organ.
* Kidneys are the size of your fist.
* They have a high blood flow than even the brain, heart & liver.
- Kidneys love their blood flow. They reabsorb and redistribute 99% of the blood volume throughout the body, leaving the 1% of the filtered blood to become urine.
* They are the body's natural filtration system – filtering the blood to make urine.
* They are responsible for the water balance in our bodies [ they are the reason why when you drink too much you pee out everything.]
- women drink around 9 cups (2.2 liters) per day, and that men drink about 13 cups (3 liters).
* Your body waits until your bladder is half-full before you go to the bathroom. Once it reaches the halfway point, your body sends signals to your brain telling you that it’s time to expel the yellow stuff from your system.
* They help get rid of waste products in your body.
* They filter out about 120-150 quarts of blood a day.
* A faulty kidney can lead to Vitamin D deficiency in the body
* You can survive on only one kidney.
* All the blood in your body goes through your kidneys and is filtered every 30 minutes, which is about 50 times every day.
* About 25% of all blood from the heart goes into the kidneys.
* Each kidney carries about 1-2 million little filtering systems called nephrons.
* You can never reverse the damage of kidney disease but we can slow it down.
* Diabetes & High Blood pressure are the top two causes of kidney disease.
* 10% of the population is affected by chronic kidney disease.
* For children born with renal agenesis (i.e. one kidney), the lone kidney grows till it has the combined weight of two.
* The average kidney is as big as a cellphone and weighs 4-6 ounces.
* Even though the kidney only accounts for 0.5% of the body’s weight on average, it receives more blood than all other organs except the liver.
* While filtering, the kidneys produce urine to carry the toxins away. The urine is sent through two tubes called ureters down to the bladder, where the urine then leaves the body through the urethra.
* The kidneys also make hormones. These hormones help regulate blood pressure, make red blood cells and promote bone health.
* They help regulate blood pressure.
* They are bean-shaped organs located on both sides of the spine, behind the stomach.
* A baby’s kidney is huge compared to its body weight. Even though it weighs less than an ounce (28 grams), an average baby weighs 7.5 pounds, or 120 ounces (3.4 kilograms).
* The largest kidney stone ever recorded was the size of a coconut. It weighed a whopping 2.5 pounds (1.1 kilograms).
* The right kidney is usually smaller and placed lower in the body than the left kidney. The right kidney sits under the liver, the body’s largest internal organ, which explains why it’s smaller and placed lower in the body.
* Kidney stones are exactly what they sound like. They are stones made from hardened minerals and acid salts that collect in the kidneys, usually formed by concentrated urine.
* The kidneys are cited more than 30 times in the Bible—far more frequently than the heart, which was rarely mentioned.
- Unlike most ancient literature, the kidneys receive special attention in the Bible as the seat of conscience, emotions, desire, and wisdom,” Eknoyan wrote. “The broader region of the loins, which according to the Oxford English Dictionary is implied in the now archaic term ‘reins,’ is considered the site of physical strength and prowess.”
* One of the most important things to remember is to stay hydrated. Kidneys need water to function properly and to carry away toxins.
* The best ways to avoid dehydration included drinking water before you get thirsty, since thirst indicates dehydration; eating foods, like fruits and vegetables, with a high water content; avoiding soda or other caffeinated drinks; and limiting alcohol consumption.
* The American Kidney Fund also suggests avoiding a diet high in fat and salt, limiting alcohol, avoiding tobacco and exercising most days as good ways to keep kidneys healthy.
* Taking too much vitamin C, though, may lead to kidney stones, according to Dr. Kristine Arthur, an internist at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California.
Consuming too much vitamin C has the potential to increase the amount of oxalate in your urine, thus increasing the risk of developing kidney stones
* Taking supplements in high doses may lead to kidney stones.
* The first human kidney transplant happened in Ukraine in 1933 by Yuri Voronoy. Sadly, it failed.
* The first successful kidney transplant was done by Joseph E. Smith and his team in Boston in 1954.
* Once a person reaches the age of 40, the number of functional nephrons present in each kidney start falling at a rate of 1% a year.
* Despite the decline in the number of functional nephrons in kidneys after the age of 40, the kidneys continue to function normally because the nephrons have a tendency of enlarging once the demise begins.
* If the oxygen content of the blood falls, the kidneys can sense that as well. Once the kidneys sense a lack of oxygen, they create a hormone which triggers increased production of red blood cells. RBCs are responsible for carrying oxygen. As RBC count increases, the oxygen content of the blood also increases.
19. Kidneys pump around 400 gallons of recycled blood every day.
So try as much as possible to take really good care of your kidneys.
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