08/18/2026
🫘💧 KIDNEY HEALTH: Your Body’s Filtration & Balance System 💧🫘
Your kidneys may be small, but they have a HUGE job! 🙌 Most people think of the kidneys simply as filters that make urine—but their responsibilities go far beyond that.
🩸 WHAT DO YOUR KIDNEYS ACTUALLY DO?
🧹 Filter the blood & remove waste
Your kidneys continuously filter the blood, removing metabolic waste products and many drugs and their metabolites so they can leave the body through urine.
💧 Balance fluid levels
The kidneys determine how much water your body holds onto versus eliminates. This makes kidney function closely connected with hydration, blood volume, swelling, and blood pressure.
⚡ Regulate electrolytes
Sodium 🧂, potassium 🍌, calcium, magnesium, chloride, and phosphate all need to stay within relatively narrow ranges. The kidneys are major regulators of these minerals.
❤️ Help regulate blood pressure
Kidneys influence blood pressure through fluid and sodium balance (yes, kidneys need salt to function optimally) as well as the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS).
⚖️ Maintain acid-base balance
Your body has to keep blood pH within a VERY tight range. Kidneys help accomplish this by eliminating hydrogen ions and conserving or generating bicarbonate. 🧪
🦴 Support healthy bones
Kidneys activate vitamin D into calcitriol, helping regulate calcium and phosphorus metabolism and supporting healthy bones.
🩸 Support red blood cell production through EPO
Your kidneys produce erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone released primarily in response to low oxygen levels. EPO travels to the bone marrow and tells it to increase production of red blood cells. Those red blood cells carry oxygen throughout your body. 🩸➡️🫁➡️💪🧠
When kidney function becomes significantly impaired, EPO production can decrease and contribute to anemia, which may show up as fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, reduced exercise tolerance, or feeling cold.
🎯 There isn't a scientifically established narrower “optimal” EPO range for otherwise healthy people. Ideally, EPO should be appropriate for your hemoglobin, hematocrit, oxygen status, and clinical situation. A value that looks “normal” on paper can sometimes be inappropriately low or high depending on what's happening with red blood cell production.
🧬 Participate in hormone metabolism
The kidneys help clear and metabolize numerous hormones and signaling molecules.
🌿 WHAT ABOUT HISTAMINE?
Histamine regulation is primarily associated with enzymes such as DAO and HNMT, especially in the gut and other tissues—not the kidneys alone. However, the kidneys participate in the handling and excretion of histamine and its metabolites. Significant impairment in kidney function can therefore influence circulating histamine/metabolite levels which can make allergies much worse! Kidney health is one piece of a much larger histamine picture. 🧩
🔬 COMMON LAB MARKERS USED TO ASSESS KIDNEY HEALTH
🧪 Creatinine — A waste product largely related to muscle metabolism that is filtered by the kidneys. Higher levels can indicate reduced filtration, but creatinine is also influenced by muscle mass, exercise, meat intake, hydration, and creatine supplementation.
🎯 Rather than focusing on a narrow “optimal” creatinine number, look at your personal trend alongside eGFR and other kidney markers, because creatinine varies substantially with age, s*x, muscle mass, and other factors.
🧪 eGFR (Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate) — Estimates how effectively the kidneys are filtering blood.
✅ 90+ mL/min/1.73m² is generally considered normal when there are no other signs of kidney disease. An eGFR below 60 that persists for 3+ months warrants medical evaluation.
🧪 BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen) — Measures nitrogen from urea produced during protein metabolism. It can be influenced by kidney function, hydration, protein intake, GI bleeding, and other factors.
📊 Typical laboratory reference ranges are approximately 7–20 mg/dL, although ranges vary by laboratory.
🧪 Cystatin C — Another blood marker that can be used to estimate filtration. It can be especially helpful when creatinine may be misleading because of unusually high or low muscle mass or creatine supplementation. 💪
🧪 Urinalysis — Urine can reveal important clues that bloodwork doesn't! 👀 It can evaluate things such as protein, blood, glucose, ketones, white blood cells, nitrites, specific gravity, pH, crystals, and other sediment findings.
🧪 Urine Albumin-to-Creatinine Ratio (uACR) — One of the most valuable tests for detecting kidney damage early.
🟢 300 mg/g = severely increased
🧪 Can you test EPO? Yes! Serum erythropoietin can be measured, but it isn't typically used as a routine kidney screening test. Reference ranges vary considerably by laboratory and testing method, with some labs using ranges around 2.6–18.5 mIU/mL.
Importantly, a single abnormal kidney marker doesn't automatically mean kidney disease. Trends and the overall clinical picture matter! 📈
🚨 WHAT CAN DAMAGE THE KIDNEYS?
🍭 Diabetes & chronically elevated blood sugar — Diabetes is one of the leading contributers of chronic kidney disease. They even have a name for it known as "Diabetic Nephropathy".
❤️ High blood pressure — Persistent hypertension can damage the tiny blood vessels responsible for filtration.
💊 Certain medications — Some medications can stress or injure the kidneys, particularly in susceptible people. NSAID pain relievers such as ibuprofen and naproxen are important examples, especially with frequent use, dehydration, older age, or existing kidney problems. Never stop a prescribed medication without discussing it with your healthcare provider.
🦠 Infections — Severe infections, recurrent urinary infections that reach the kidneys, and certain systemic infections can affect kidney health.
☣️ Environmental & occupational exposures — Heavy metals such as lead and cadmium and certain solvents or chemicals can be nephrotoxic.
🍄 Mycotoxins — Mold toxins are the #1 most common environmental toxin I find in people with kidney damage. Mycotoxins are extremely nephrotoxic which makes sense if your kidneys job is to eliminate toxins - the higher the exposure the more stress you will have on the kidneys.
💧 Severe dehydration / inadequate fluid intake — Significant dehydration decreases blood flow to the kidneys and can contribute to acute kidney injury, particularly when combined with illness, heat exposure, strenuous exercise, or certain medications.
⚡ Electrolyte disturbances — Significant abnormalities can occur alongside or contribute to serious fluid and kidney problems. More electrolytes aren't automatically better—people with impaired kidney function may actually need to limit certain electrolytes, particularly potassium.
🪨 Kidney stones & urinary obstruction — Recurrent stones or prolonged obstruction can eventually damage kidney tissue.
💪 Extreme exercise / rhabdomyolysis — Severe muscle breakdown releases large amounts of myoglobin, which can cause acute kidney injury.
🫘 HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT YOUR KIDNEYS?
💧 Stay appropriately hydrated
🥗 Eat a nutrient-dense, minimally processed diet
🍬 Keep blood sugar in a healthy range
❤️ Monitor and manage blood pressure
🚶 Stay physically active
🚭 Don't smoke
💊 Be mindful of unnecessary or excessive NSAID use
🧪 Periodically check kidney markers when appropriate
🩺 Address urinary infections promptly
☣️ Reduce unnecessary exposure to heavy metals, solvents, and other known nephrotoxins
Your kidneys quietly filter your blood 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 🫘❤️ Protecting them is about much more than simply drinking more water!
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