kidney problems are associated with dialysis which is a last resort option to balance and cleanse your body and allow for proper functioning of the kidneys kidneys act as regulators of the body they balance and measure the right amount of nutrients as per the bodys needs when we fall sick we often resort to food to cure us likewise we look at which foods can improve the functioning of your kidney dr ravi bansal senior consultant nephrologist with pushpawati singhania research institute psri hospital explains how to improve the functioning of your kidneys dr ravi says foods do not directly lead to any kidney disease or improve kidney functions as kidney functions are pretty complex but indirectly they can contribute to risk factors diabetes and hypertension are common risk factors for kidney disease he goes on to explain diet rich in salt contributes to hypertension and uncontrolled blood pressure can lead to kidney damage similarly high fat intake and a sedentary lifestyle contributes to high cholesterol levels and increases risk of diabetes and hypertension the nephrologist doesnt leave you hanging he breaks down what you can do to avoid kidney problems and ways to improve the functioning of your kidneys he says if you do not have any kidney disease the best you can do is avoid extra salt and fatty foods avoid unnecessary over the counter medications and pain killers the amount of salt content in fast food especially pizzas is unimaginable best to reduce the intake of fast food drink at least 2 to 3 litre water per day adequate water intake helps in reducing the concentrations of harmful substances in the blood and urine avoid heavy protein intake in form of protein supplements if you already face kidney problems dr ravi suggests change in diet if you already have some kidney disease then you need to be more cautious as the kidney looses its ability to balance the extra chemicals in the diet like sodium potassium phosphorus and intrinsic substances like urea creatinine and uric acid thus diet rich in these substances has to be avoided this amounts to avoiding all juices most fruits and dry fruits limiting the amount of liquids you can take as per urine output protein intake also needs to be reduced hence to avoid damaging your kidneys and to improve the functioning of your kidneys dr ravi lays down some rules and parameters to following to prevent kidney disease firstly you need to spot kidney problems the problem lies in the fact that early kidney disease goes undiagnosed and thus worsens high blood pressure and swelling of legs are common early signs of kidney disease these are often missed or even if identified no tests are done to see kidney function he advises low sodium salts are commonly promoted to be used in high bp patients this can do more harm as many of these patients have undiagnosed underlying kidney disease and this salt contains lot