How to Increase GFR?
A measure of how effectively your kidneys are functioning that your doctor can use is the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). By looking at your lifestyle, nutrition, and medications, as well as making some changes, you can raise your GFR and enhance your kidney function. It is very important to know how to increase GFR.
Your body’s filtration system is your kidneys. They draw the necessary amounts of water and nutrients from your blood while sending waste materials, poisons, and surplus fluid to the bladder, where they will be discharged as urine. Your body’s fluid and electrolyte balance is critically regulated by your kidneys, which affects things like your heart rate and blood pressure.
You must carefully monitor your kidney health if this filter isn’t functioning correctly or if you’ve been diagnosed with kidney disease.
Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measures the amount of blood that passes through the kidneys per minute. If your GFR is too low, the kidneys cannot dilute properly, and toxins build up in the body. You can increase your GFR by improving your diet and lifestyle depending on the circumstances. Still, exceptionally low GFR may require prescription medications and professional medical treatment.
Considering that any imbalance in this system has a ripple effect across the body. Read on to find out what you can do to raise how to increase GFR and preserve or recover the health of your kidneys.
Before You Begin, Check Your GFR
Get a blood test. Your doctor may order a creatinine blood test to test your GFR. Creatinine is a waste product found in the blood. If the amount of creatinine is found to be very high in your blood sample, then understand that the kidney’s filtering capacity (GFR) has become very low.
In addition, the doctor will order a creatinine clearance test, which measures the amount of creatinine in both blood and urine. To know how to increase GFR, read the given details.
1. Know your numbers:
Only one factor is involved in calculating GFR that tells the test result. Doctors also consider your age, race, body size, and gender when estimating your GFR rate.
Your kidneys are healthy if your GFR is 90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 or higher.
It is understanding how to increase GFR, if the GFR is between 60 and 89 ml per minute per 1.73 m2, there is stage 2 CKD (Chronic kidney disease). A GFR rate of 30 to 59 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 is considered CKD stage three, and a rate of 15 to 29 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 is regarded as CKD stage four.
When GFR is less than 15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 (15mls/min/1.73m2), you are in stage five of CKD, which means that your kidneys have failed.
2. Talk to the Doctor/Dietician:
Your doctor can give you additional details about your GFR score and how it might affect your life. A dietician and doctors can give you multiple ways how to increase GFR after understanding your health report.
Regardless of your CKD stage, you must make specific changes to your diet and overall lifestyle. However, during the early stages, these changes alone are sufficient to improve GFR. This also applies to you if you do not have any history of kidney problems.
In the later stages of CKD, your doctor may prescribe certain medications to help improve kidney function. Lifestyle changes must be made along with these medicines, and it is not to be considered an alternative treatment.
In the final stages of CKD, doctors will always recommend dialysis or a kidney transplant.
What can you do to raise your GFR and stop more kidney damage from occurring?
Kidney disease is typically a chronic condition that becomes worse over time. While it can increase GFR, acute renal injuries are more likely to do so than chronic kidney disease. To work on how to increase GFR, positive lifestyle adjustments may assist most chronic disease sufferers in delaying the decline in kidney function.
Some Research
According to reliable sources, individuals with the renal disease at any stage may see how to increase GFR rise over time by:
- The regulation of blood pressure: Exercise, a healthy diet, lowering your stress level, and drinking less alcohol are other lifestyle choices that can help you control high blood pressure.
- Make sure you don’t have a vitamin D deficiency: Lacking vitamin D is quite prevalent, and many individuals are unaware they are lacking.
- Consultation with your dietician: Consult your physician and have your blood levels checked if you suspect a deficiency. You can increase your sun exposure or up your intake of foods high in vitamin D to raise your vitamin D levels.
- Resolving other metabolic problems: Complex and manifesting in a variety of ways, metabolic diseases. Find a treatment strategy that targets the underlying cause in collaboration with your doctor.
Make these 10 changes in your diet and lifestyle to increase GFR
1. Eat more vegetables and less meat:
An increase in creatinine and a decrease in GFR go hand in hand; one problem will not be without the other. Creatine and creatinine are commonly found in animal products.
2. Quit Smoking
Smoking builds up a lot of toxins in the body, and these toxins end up in the kidneys. Quitting this habit will reduce the burden on the kidneys and increase their ability to filter waste products.
3. Managing Fluid Intake:
Water consumption can have a negative impact on GFR if it has already decreased. According to the studies, it is found that increased water intake during low GFR can actually decrease GFR even more.
4. Eat a low-salt diet:
Damaged kidneys have difficulty filtering sodium, so adding salt to your diet can worsen your condition and lower your GFR.
Eliminate foods high in salt from your diet and replace them with foods low in sodium. Season your food with other spices instead of adding salt.
5. Home Made Food is important:
You should eat primarily home-cooked food made with peels and canned things to a minimum.
6.Consume less potassium and phosphorus:
Phosphorus and potassium are two minerals that are difficult to filter through the kidneys, especially if the kidneys are already weak or damaged.
Foods rich in potassium are winter squash, sweet potatoes, white beans, yoghurt, halibut, orange juice, broccoli, cantaloupe, bananas, pulses, milk, salmon, pistachios, raisins, chicken and tuna.
Foods rich in phosphorus are milk, yoghurt, hard cheese, cottage cheese, ice cream, pulses, whole grains, dried peas, beans, nuts, sardines, pollock (a saltwater fish), colas, and flavored water.
7. Consume Plant-Based Food:
On the other hand, both creatine and creatinine are not found in plant-based food sources. Eating a primarily vegetarian diet may also help reduce other factors of CKD, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
8. Drink nettle leaf tea:
Drinking at least one to two 250 ml cups of nettle leaf tea daily can help lower creatinine levels in the body and increase GFR.
Consult your dietician to ensure nettle leaf tea is safe for you based on your medical history.
To make nettle leaf tea, take two fresh nettle leaves and let them steam in at least 250 ml water on a low flame for 10 to 20 minutes. Now filter and separate the leaves and drink hot tea.
9. Exercise regularly:
Cardiovascular exercise, in particular, can help improve blood circulation. The more blood pumped through the body, the more effectively toxins are flushed from the kidneys, leading to the enhanced gaffer. Regular exercise is the optimum answer to how to increase GFR.
10. Leaching Process to Increase GFR:
To “extract” some potassium out of the food and into the water, raw or frozen vegetables are soaked in water for at least two hours before being cooked. Because these vegetables still contain a significant amount of potassium after leaching, you should avoid eating them frequently.
Must Avoid from your diets
How to increase GFR, it is important to know that your kidneys can be significantly protected by eating a balanced diet. Some meals are better avoided if you have known kidney impairment since they place extra stress on the kidneys. These include items that are high in sodium, phosphorus, and potassium, such as:
- Bananas, avocados, and tinned goods
- oranges and orange juice, soda, whole-wheat bread
- Brown rice-based condiments
- refined meats
- starches\stomatoes
- packaged food
- dried goods
- green leafy vegetables
Seek medical treatment
To know how to increase GFR, don’t forget to consult your renal dietitian. In end-stage kidney disease, your doctor may refer you to a kidney specialist to determine the best diet for your condition. These specialists are called “renal dieticians.”
Your renal dietitian will work with you to reduce stress on your kidneys by maintaining a balance of fluids and minerals in your body.
Most specialized diets include ingredients similar to those listed in this article. For example, you may be instructed to reduce your sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and protein intake.
Takeaway
The answer to how to increase GFR is difficult, but it is possible. Speak with your dietician about dietary and lifestyle changes to improve your GFR and kidney function. Additionally, discuss any new vitamins or medications you take to improve kidney function.
Avoiding kidney damage is the best way to keep them healthy. Avoid drugs harmful to your kidneys, eat healthily, drink plenty of water, and control your blood pressure and blood sugar.
Frequently asked questions ( FAQ’s)
Answer:
The amount of water you should consume on a chronic kidney disease diet depends on individual needs and medical history.
In general, individuals with CKD may need to limit their fluid intake. This is because the kidneys may not be able to remove excess fluid from the body as efficiently as they should.
With the guidance of a dietician, you can determine how much water you should consume each day. The assessment will be based on your individual needs and goals.
Answer:
Sodas, soft drinks and cold drinks and other sugary drinks are the worst beverages to be consumed when following a CLD diet plan. They are generally not recommended when following a CKD diet plan. This is because they are high in sugar and phosphorus.
Answer:
Controlling blood pressure is super important! High blood pressure can have a negative impact on health. It can cause damage to your kidneys. This can further lower your GFR. So, you must track your BP. Keeping it in check can help protect your kidneys and maintain a healthier GFR. So, make sure you have a stable blood pressure level. This will keep your GFR high.
Answer:
Absolutely. Diabetes can indeed affect your GFR. High blood sugar can affect your body in a number of ways. It can cause damage to the kidneys over time. This can lower your GFR. Thus, it is important to manage your diabetes. It can help you maintain kidney health. With a proper blood sugar level, you can have healthy kidneys. It will raise your glomerular filtration rate.
Answer:
Losing weight can definitely impact your GFR in a positive way! You should have a healthy weight for a healthy body. If you are heavy, then losing weight is a good choice. Maintaining a healthy weight can help prevent a number of conditions. Mainly, diabetes and high blood pressure. These issues can harm your kidneys. It can lower your GFR. So, if you are overweight, then consider working on it. You can lose weight for healthy kidneys.
