If you have diabetes you are at a higher risk for kidney disease, especially if you have high glucose and high blood pressure. Approximately 1 in 4 adults with diabetes will also develop kidney disease. Your chances increase if you smoke, are overweight, have heart disease, have a family member with kidney disease and you don’t exercise or follow your diabetes food plan. Many people are not aware that they have kidney disease and would benefit from being tested for it.
To keep your kidneys as healthy as you can, work with your health care team to keep your glucose and blood pressure within acceptable levels. It is also important to follow the appropriate food choices for your diabetes, develop an activity/exercise plan with your health care team, get enough sleep, and learn relaxation techniques to reduce your potential high stress level.
Being as healthy as you can, with any chronic illness, is important and is a lifelong process, not something to do just for a day or a month. For more information, here are just a few web sites for additional information:
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes
