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We are all well aware that our various organs are crucial to our body functioning properly but how much do we really know about our liver and kidneys?
So, continuing our series of delving into what happens to the various areas of our body as we age, this week Mary and I are talking about these two very important organs that we don’t often talk about. I am attempting to unravel the mystery of our kidneys and Mary will be talking about the interesting life of our liver. It has been a journey of discovery and I think we have found it fascinating to learn about what happens to these vital organs as we get older.
KIDNEYS
I am sure we are all aware that most people have two kidneys, but we actually only need one functioning kidney to live an active, healthy life. So, first let’s learn about what our kidneys actually do in playing a vital role in maintaining our overall health by performing lots of key functions. These include:
- Filtering Blood: Kidneys filter waste products, excess fluids, and toxins from our blood to form urine, which we pass every time we go to the loo.
- Regulating Blood Pressure: Kidneys help regulate our blood pressure by controlling the volume of fluids in the body and releasing hormones that manage our blood pressure.
- Balancing Electrolytes: The kidneys maintain the balance of important electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, and calcium, which are crucial for nerve function, muscle contraction, and other physiological processes.
[Any of us who are dog owners will remember going to the vet with a poorly dog with diarrhoea and being given electrolytes to put in the drinking water of our pet. Sadly, it never proved very popular with our dogs!]
- Producing Hormones: Kidneys produce hormones like erythropoietin, which stimulates the production of red blood cells, and renin, which helps regulate our blood pressure.
- Maintaining pH Balance: Kidneys help regulate the body's acid-base balance, ensuring that blood remains at the correct pH level.
- Activating Vitamin D: Kidneys convert vitamin D into its active form, which is important for maintaining our healthy bones by aiding calcium absorption.
All of these functions are crucial for maintaining our fluid balance, waste elimination, and overall homeostasis in the body. The word ‘homeostasis’ means the maintenance of our metabolic equilibrium within us by working to compensate for disrupting changes. Clever stuff!
Homeostasis is the process by which living organisms maintain a stable internal environment despite changes in external conditions. It ensures that critical variables such as body temperature, pH levels, glucose concentration, and water balance remain within a narrow range that is optimal for cellular function.
So, let’s break that down to be able to learn exactly what it does:
- Body temperature is regulated through sweating when it's too hot and shivering when it's too cold.
- Blood sugar levels are controlled by hormones like insulin and glucagon to ensure a balance. Glucagon is a natural hormone our body makes that works with other hormones and bodily functions to control our glucose (sugar) levels in our blood. Glucagon prevents our blood sugar from dropping too low.
- pH levels in the blood are regulated to remain around 7.4 for proper enzymatic and metabolic functions.
This self-regulating process of homeostasis is vital for our survival and general health. If homeostasis is disrupted, it can lead to diseases or disorders.
The problem is that as we age, our kidneys undergo several structural and functional changes, particularly after we turn 50. This shrinkage is primarily due to a reduction in the number of functioning nephrons which are the tiny filtering units in our kidneys.
As we have mentioned many times in this Newsletter that we have to work extra hard to maintain our muscles as we age, keeping our kidneys healthy as we grow older is also really important, as kidneys naturally lose some function over time – just like our muscles. All very depressing but here are some key steps we can all take to help keep our kidneys as healthy as possible as the years advance:
1. Stay Hydrated
- Adequate Water Intake: It will come as no surprise that we are saying drink enough fluids. Staying hydrated is absolutely critical to kidney health. We must drink enough water to help our kidneys to flush away unwanted waste and toxins from our blood. We should aim for around 6 - 8 glasses of water per day.
- Avoid Excessive Fluid: Conversely, over-hydration can stress the kidneys, especially for those with kidney disease, so balance is key.
2. Manage Blood Pressure
- Monitor Blood Pressure regularly: High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of kidney damage. We can help keep our blood pressure in check with a balanced diet, regular exercise, and medication if prescribed by your doctor.
- Low-Sodium Diet: Reducing our salt intake will help to prevent high blood pressure.
3. Control Blood Sugar Levels
- Diabetes Management: High blood sugar can damage the kidneys over time. We can maintain healthy blood sugar levels through a healthy diet, regular exercise, and medications if necessary.
4. Eat a Kidney-friendly Diet
- Low Sodium: Limit salt to reduce fluid retention and help our blood pressure.
- Balance Protein Intake: Too much protein can strain the kidneys too. Opt for moderate, plant-based proteins (like beans, nuts) and lean meats and poultry.
- Fruits and Vegetables: A diet rich in fruits and vegetables provides antioxidants that help protect the kidneys.
- Limit Processed Foods: We should reduce our consumption of processed foods that are often high in phosphorus, potassium, and sodium – another reason to cook our own.
5. Maintain a Healthy Weight
- Exercise Regularly: As readers of this Newsletter will know well, regular physical activity can help maintain a healthy weight but you may not realise that it also improves our kidney function.
- Healthy Diet: A balanced diet low in unhealthy (saturated) fats and sugars not only supports our overall health but it also really helps our kidneys.
6. Avoid Overuse of Medications
- Limit NSAIDs (e.g., Ibuprofen, Naproxen). NSAIDs stands for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which are medicines that relieve pain, reduce inflammation and bring down a high temperature. They include ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin and others. Over-the-counter painkillers can damage the kidneys when used frequently or in high doses.
- Consult Your Doctor: Always check with a GP before starting new medications or supplements, especially if they may affect the kidneys.
7. Stop Smoking
- Smoking reduces blood flow to the kidneys and can accelerate kidney damage. Quitting smoking improves kidney and overall health.
8. Limit Alcohol
- Moderation: Alcohol is seen as a toxin (poison) by our body and excessive alcohol can increase our blood pressure as well as harm our kidneys, so if you do drink alcohol, please drink it in moderation. [Since my hubby’s cancer diagnosis last year, Mike stopped drinking because of the drugs that he was receiving, so I decided to stop too. Like losing weight, it is much easier if we do it with our spouse. Amazingly, we haven’t found it difficult and we do feel better for it and Mike is doing well with his immunotherapy treatment.]
9. Monitor Kidney Function
- Regular Checkups: It is a wise move to have our kidney function tested regularly, especially if we have risk factors like diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of kidney disease.
- Early Detection: Early detection of any issues can help slow the progression of kidney disease.
10. Manage Stress
- Reduce Stress: High stress levels can indirectly affect our kidney health by contributing to high blood pressure and poor lifestyle habits. If you are someone who suffers with stress, look for stress-relief techniques such as meditation, yoga, or spending time in nature.
I realise this is all quite a lot to take in and this is a very comprehensive list but most of the suggestions are what we constantly recommend through this weekly newsletter anyway. If we do take these simple steps on board, it will dramatically help reduce our risk of kidney disease and also help our long-term kidney function.
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Two Pepper Soup
Serves 6
Per serving: 137 calories, 2.2g fat
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
For Yellow Pepper Soup:
6 yellow peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed or use half a teaspoon of ‘Easy Garlic’
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or half teaspoon dried thyme
1 celery stick, chopped
1 litre vegetable stock
1 vegetable stock pot
Freshly ground black pepper
For Red Pepper Soup:
6 red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed or use half a teaspoon of ‘Easy Garlic’
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or half teaspoon dried thyme
1 celery stick, chopped
1 litre vegetable stock
1 vegetable stock pot
Freshly ground black pepper
Make the two soups using separate pans or, if using a soup-maker, make the yellow pepper soup first then set aside before rinsing it out and then cooking the red pepper soup.
For each soup:
- Place all the ingredients in the pan or soup-maker. Cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 20 - 25 minutes or until soft.
- When cooked, liquidise until smooth and set aside.
- Taste for seasoning and add more freshly ground black pepper if needed.
If the soup is too thin it will not stay separated when served so thicken with a little cornflour mixed with cold water and add to the soup when reheated and boil for a minute or two to thicken.
To serve:
It is essential to pour each colour soup from identical jugs simultaneously from opposite sides of a large soup dish in order to keep them separated. Serve with a sprig of fresh coriander or parsley.
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Don't forget, you can download and print a copy of all our recipes if you click on the image to go to the recipe's page on the website.
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Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.
I have always thought it is rather worrying that many people have very little idea of how their body works. We carry it around and live in it for many, many years and yet have very little idea of the amazing functions of all the different parts. It is a truly incredible machine and, if we look after it, it will serve us well for many decades. It is only when it starts to present us with a problem that we might discover, too late, that we should have looked after it a bit better!
There is no better example of this than with this week's topic of the liver. A 'super' organ I call it as it has over 500 different functions (amazing I know!) and is the largest gland and largest solid organ in the body. It weighs almost 2 kilos (4lbs) in men and 1.4 kilos (3lbs) in women and holds approximately 1 pint of blood.
To get a good idea of where it is on your body just place the palm of your right hand on your right side around the ribs and you will have pin-pointed its position, and even the size of it, just underneath the ribs. (One of the ribs’ important functions is to protect our vital organs such as our heart, liver and lungs from any high impact injury.)
What Does Our Liver Do?
It would be impossible to mention all the functions of the liver here as there are so many as it is a highly metabolic organ, but the main ones that will hopefully resonate with you are:
- It produces more than half of our cholesterol, and that is needed for every cell in our body to function well.
- It balances our need for energy. If glucose is running low, there is a very valuable reserve in our liver.
- It creates the protein necessary for blood clotting.
- It plays a key role in our immune function by filtering out bacteria, viruses and other pathogens.
- It removes alcohol from the blood.
Our Liver As We Age
It is probably true to say that there is no part of the body that improves as we age, but we can have a significant affect on the rate at which those essential body parts degenerate. Among my fellow exercisers and ageing friends, the most repeated comment made has to be 'this getting older is just not nice', as every one of us has something to moan about regarding the gradual decline of this amazing machine. We feel a bit like we are getting a bit rusty!
Although the liver has a remarkable ability to regenerate, ageing still impacts its structure and function. Here's what typically happens to the liver as we grow older:
- Liver size. The liver can decrease in size by 20 - 40% by the time we reach 70.
- Blood flow. Blood flow to the liver can decrease by up to 35%.
- Reduced regeneration. Its ability to repair itself after injury or disease declines making recovery slower.
- Increased fat. Fat can build up in the liver, particularly if the diet is poor, and this leads to inflammation.
- Poor Detox. The liver's role in detoxifying harmful substances (such as alcohol, medications and environmental toxins) becomes less efficient.
- Weakened immune response. Our immune response weakens making us more susceptible to infections and inflammation.
- Reduce stress. Chronic stress contributes to inflammation. Try engaging in activities that promote relaxation such as meditation, yoga or a hobby that relaxes you.
Look After Your Liver!
So now we need to explore all that we can do to offset all the above mentioned:
- Eat a healthy diet. Antioxidant-rich foods like berries, leafy greens and plenty of vegetables reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. Healthy fats from fish and high fibre from whole grains all help to maintain a healthy liver. Sounds familiar!
- Stay hydrated. Plenty of water keeps the liver functioning at its very best.
- Limit alcohol. Excessive alcohol is a major cause of liver damage, leading to conditions such as fatty liver, cirrhosis and even liver failure. Plenty of reasons to reduce or even eliminate it!
- Exercise regularly. Exercise keeps liver cells functioning well. Think of your liver on your next daily walk!
- Be a healthy weight. Being very overweight is linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Losing even a small amount of weight can significantly improve our liver health.
- Get tested. Routine check-ups help detect early signs of liver dysfunction. Symptoms may not present themselves until it is too late.
- Control blood sugar. Diabetes and high blood sugar levels can damage the liver over time. A balanced diet and regular exercise help to regulate our blood sugar.
So, I suppose that none of the above will come as a surprise to you, but personally I need to have all my efforts to eat well and keep moving every week further justified. All of the above does just that. We need to be reminded often that we are doing all the right things to stay as fit and as healthy as we can to keep this extraordinary machine working at its best.
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This Week's Fitness Challenge
- If you have not changed your 30+ minutes daily walking route lately then do it this week. A change of environment is uplifting and gives you renewed energy.
- Try to add extra resistance or increase the number of repetitions you do in your 3 strength training sessions this week. Seek out some new exercises on our website or search YouTube for exercises for older bodies! Our Advanced Whole Body Strength Programme or something like the Standing Band Workout are ideal.
- Take time for some mindfulness or do some slow relaxing exercises that include some stretch or balance and play some relaxing music as you do them. All good for your liver and kidney function!
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Did you know... 
Why can my phone see the Northern Lights better than I can?
Last night (Thursday 10th) we were treated to a rare view here in the East Midlands - a decent look at the Northern Lights. Rarely visible this far south in the UK it created quite a stir, but if you were lucky enough to get a chance to see this phenomenon were you slightly disappointed by the grey blur in the sky when all the images you see are of spectacular colours?
The issue is that whilst cameras are only collecting actual light that really is there, they do it so much better than our human eyes. Also, our eyes are looking "live" in real time, whereas many of the terrific images we see have been taken over a period of time, using long exposure shots or time-lapse photography.
So while it was exciting to rush out into the night to try to catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, next time I might just stay in the warm and wait for the pictures on social media the next morning!
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And finally...
I think I have learned more from writing this Newsletter than from any previous edition. I am sure Mary agrees that it was fascinating to learn of the affects of ageing on our liver and kidneys – subjects that are not as commonly discussed as our heart and limbs.
Having read it all, we do hope that you will be even more motivated to eat healthily, lose any unwanted weight, keep up your exercises and not drink too much alcohol! As we all aim to fight the fight to keep youthful and healthy for as long as we possibly can, let’s make a real effort to live longer, healthier and happier.
Have a great week!
With love and best wishes,
Rosemary Conley CBE DL
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LIVE LONGER | LIVE HEALTHIER | LIVE HAPPIER
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