Creatinine is a normal waste product that builds up in your blood from using your muscles. Creatinine and creatinine clearance tests measure the level of the waste product creatinine in your blood and urine. These tests tell how well your kidneys are working.
A higher creatinine level indicates poor kidney function. Therefore, it is important to lower your creatinine levels quickly. Normally, your kidneys filter creatinine from your blood and send it out of the body in your urine. If there is a problem with your kidneys, creatinine can build up in the blood, and less will be released in urine.
Natural ways to lower your creatinine levels
Most of the creatinine is released into the bloodstream and then filtered via the kidneys, being finally eliminated through urine. However, sometimes, creatinine levels can build up in the body and lead to health problems. Your healthcare provider may check your blood and urine for creatinine, as well as order other tests to evaluate the health of your kidneys. A normal level depends on your age, race, gender, and body size. The natural ways to lower your creatinine levels are :
- Don’t take creatine
Kidneys help maintain and filter out creatinine levels in the body. Creatine is a popular supplement among athletes and weight-lifters to build muscle and enhance performance. High doses found in some bodybuilding supplements have resulted in elevated creatinine levels, though not necessarily impaired kidney function.
- Eat more fiber
Evidence suggests that dietary fiber benefits patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, this conclusion requires further validation. Dietary fiber, also known as roughage or bulk, includes the parts of plant foods your body can’t digest or absorb. Unlike other food components, such as fats, proteins, or carbohydrates — which your body breaks down and absorbs — fiber isn’t digested by your body. Instead, it passes relatively intact through your stomach, small intestine, and colon and out of your body.
- Avoid smoking
It’s no secret that smoking is a terrible habit that wreaks havoc on your health. The chemicals and toxins that are inhaled from just one cigarette course through the body and affect nearly every cell, system, and organ. Over time, these chemicals and toxins build up and contribute to a variety of health problems.
Smoking has a direct and disastrous effect on renal health. One of the chronic kidney diseases cause is smoking. Renal cancer and kidney stones are also caused by the incessant inhalation of tobacco smoke. It is important to understand the extensive damage caused by smoking to kidney health. This will help us to enforce a restriction on smoking in our family and in our environment.
- Avoiding dehydration
Creatinine levels can rise when a person is dehydrated. Signs of dehydration include thirst, dizziness, and fatigue. Severe dehydration can put a strain on the cardiovascular and other systems. It can be life-threatening.
Dehydration occurs when you use or lose more fluid than you take in, and your body doesn’t have enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions. If you don’t replace lost fluids, you will get dehydrated.
What is dehydration?
Water is a critical element of the body, and keeping the body adequately hydrated is a must to allow the body to function. Up to 75% of the body’s weight is made up of water. Dehydration is the absence of a sufficient amount of water in your body. The best way to beat dehydration is to drink before you get thirsty.
Dehydration can lead to serious complications, including:
- Low blood volume shock
- Heat injury
- Urinary and kidney problems
- Seizures
Drinking alcohol
Drinking alcohol affects many parts of your body, including your kidneys. A little alcohol—one or two drinks now and then—usually has no serious effects. However, excessive drinking–more than four drinks daily—can affect your health and worsen kidney disease. The kidneys have an important job as a filter for harmful substances. One of these substances is alcohol. The kidneys of heavy drinkers have to work harder. Alcohol causes changes in the function of the kidneys and makes them less able to filter the blood.
Which food reduces creatinine levels?
In a healthy person, creatinine ranges from 95 ml per minute for females and about 120 ml for males. Grapes, apples, and cranberries, as well as their respective juices, are all good substitutes for oranges and orange juice, as they have lower potassium content. Oranges and orange juice are high in potassium and should be limited on a renal diet.