Caring for Your Kidneys

Your kidneys: one of many organs that provides more than meets the eye. While you may not spend much time thinking about your kidneys and their functions, they spend lots of time working for you!

The kidneys are bean-shaped organs located near the middle of the back, just below your rib cage. They are roughly the size of a fist and one is located on each side of your spine. Do you know how much your kidneys work? Each day, your kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood, sifting out nearly 2 quarts of waste products and extra water for excretion and recovering nearly 198 quarts.

How does the filtration work?

Kidney function is performed through a complicated chemical exchange that allows the organ to filter waste materials and water out of your blood and into your urinary system. Your kidneys have roughly 1 million nephrons; a nephron consists of a filtering unit of tiny blood vessels called a glomerulus attached to a tubule. In this tubule, chemicals and water are either added to or removed from this filtered fluid according to your body's needs. The final product: the urine that you excrete.

Why are my kidneys important?

While the major known function of the kidneys is to remove excess waste and fluid, it serves another purpose: the kidneys are critical in regulating the body's levels of salt, potassium and acid content. Furthermore, your kidneys produce a hormone that stimulates red blood cell production! Other hormones that come from the kidneys regulate blood pressure and control calcium metabolism.

While kidneys sustain life in a number of ways, they are susceptible to damage and disease like any other organ. For more information on kidney disease, click here.

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