Energy drinks are some of the most unhealthy types of beverages that you can drink. What makes them even worse than alcohol in certain ways is that they can be purchased by anyone, including an eight-year-old. These drinks, ranging from RedBull to Monster have extremely high amounts of sugar and caffeine in them, which is directly linked to high blood pressure, stress, and eventually kidney damage.
This was recently confirmed by a study in Frontiers in Public Health. There is currently little to no regulation by the Foods and Drugs Administration (FDA) despite recurring calls from various researchers to curb the damage they do to young children.
Don't Hold You Pee
As we mentioned before your kidneys filter out waste products and extra fluids, the by-products then go into your urine and get disposed of when you pee. This helps to avoid building up excess and waste in your body. When you hold your pee in for long periods of time, ignoring nature’s call is actually one of the biggest factors that cause kidney problems.
The more time your urine stays inside, the more bacteria begin to manifest in it. When these bacteria reach a certain critical mass and begin to reach your kidneys, all sorts of trouble begin to unfold. This is actually one of the most productive things you can do for your kidneys, and it's also one of the easiest since it’s not hard to find the motivation to pee when the need arises. Coming up: how cigarettes and processed foods are ruining your kidney health, explained.
A Bit of Exercise Goes a Long Way Towards Health
Back in the day, people used to mostly do labor-intensive jobs. Nowadays, there's not a lot of incentive to be physically active, with most jobs being desk jobs and most forms of entertainment including a screen or a couch. If you also add the fact that we're a lot busier today, you start to get the picture of why people tend to avoid exercising.
Fifteen minutes of daily exercise may lengthen your life by over three years on average when compared to people who don't exercise at all. “The truth is that if you’re exercising for health, it takes very little effort to see enormous benefits,” said Dr. Harvey Simon, the study’s author and an associate professor at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Luckily, everyone has fifteen minutes to spare - even the busiest people in the world can allocate a quarter of an hour for that, so go outside and take a walk. Your heart will thank you later!
Eat Healthy Types of Fat
We've previously discussed saturated fats and trans fats, which both contribute to a raised LDL cholesterol and clog up your arteries. The higher your LDL cholesterol level, the faster your arteries get clogged, especially if left unchecked over time. The American Heart Association recommends watching out for hydrogenated oils and avoiding foods with high trans fat and saturated fats levels entirely. There are healthy kinds of fat, however, such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These fats help decrease the risks of heart disease and boost your immunity to disease.
Some of the most healthy foods that contain high amounts of good fats are olive oil, chia seeds, dark chocolate, flaxseeds, nuts, and seed butter. Just to reiterate, trans fats are bad for you. If you're looking for an easy way to avoid trans fats completely, simply eat anything that would be considered vegan. There are no natural trans fats in vegan foods, although some baked and processed vegan foods do have artificial additives that contain trans fats.
A Small Daily Portion of Fruits and Vegetables Goes a Long Way
Many types of vegetables and fruits provide various protections against everything from heart disease to cancer. Another major advantage that you get from these food groups is that many of them also protect you from kidney damage and actually help heal kidney disease. Some of the best foods for your kidneys are apples, blueberries, kale, strawberries, spinach, sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, cauliflower, and cabbage. Most of these foods contribute to lower cholesterol levels, which indirectly help lower the risk of kidney disease. Additionally, they provide direct protection against kidney disease.
A 2017 meta-analysis by the International Journal of Epidemiology found that just five daily servings of fruits and vegetables help lower the risk of heart disease. A daily portion of ten servings helps lower the risk even further.