Did you know? Even if you don't eat salty foods, you can still develop kidney disease.

As we all know, “salty taste” and “sodium” are one of the main causes that increase the risk of kidney disease. This has led to campaigns encouraging people not to eat salty food, not to add too much salt, and not to add fish sauce to meals in order to stay away from kidney disease. However, in reality, even if we do not eat salty food, do not add salt, or do not add fish sauce when eating, we all still have a risk of developing kidney disease. So, what else can cause it? Let’s find out together.

Various Causes of Kidney Disease That Can Occur Even Without Eating Salty Food

Medically, there are many factors that play an important role in increasing the risk of kidney disease. The most common factors are

1. Congenital conditions: caused by being born with abnormal or incomplete kidneys, such as some people being born with kidney atrophy, having only one kidney, or having incomplete kidney cell structures. This is a matter of fate that cannot be prevented.
2. Inflammation of the capillaries in the kidneys: this can occur without eating salty food. The capillaries in the kidneys can become inflamed due to various diseases such as SLE, which may lead to nephritis and eventually kidney deterioration.
3. Bacterial infections, especially in the urinary tract, which are unrelated to diet. When an infection occurs, it can cause kidney infection, abscess, or pus formation in the kidneys.
4. Abnormalities in the urinary tract, such as kidney stones or prostate disease. When urinary obstruction persists for a long time, it can spread to the kidneys and cause kidney deterioration.
5. Tumors in the kidneys, which can be malignant like cancer or benign tumors. These can occur independently of diet and the consumption of salty foods.

Not Eating Salty Means Reducing More Than Just Salt and Fish Sauce, But Many Other Foods

The term “not eating salty” does not only mean “reducing the amount of salt and fish sauce” in food. In daily life, there are many types of food that contain “saltiness” and “sodium” which sometimes do not taste salty. When consumed, they increase the salt content in the body and make the kidneys work harder, increasing the risk of kidney disease. Therefore, it is important to control the intake of these foods to reduce the risk of kidney disease.

1. Dipping sauces, dressings, and all kinds of sauces contain salt. Every time we dip food into these sauces, it increases the salt content in the body. The more you dip or pour, the more salt you consume.
2. Canned food, fermented food, and processed meats such as ham, sausages, shredded pork, pork sheets, etc. These foods are already seasoned with salt. When eaten with dipping sauces or dressings, the salt content in the body doubles.
3. Bread, although it may not taste salty, if you look closely at the nutrition label, bread contains more sodium than rice because it contains baking powder, which is a type of salt. Therefore, eating a lot of bread or replacing rice with bread can lead to excessive salt intake.
4. Snacks and crispy baked goods are popular snacks, but a small bag of some snacks can contain more sodium than a full meal. Therefore, frequently eating snacks outside of meals increases the risk of kidney disease.

How to Take Care of Yourself to Stay Away from Kidney Disease

Controlling eating behavior correctly and choosing foods wisely by understanding which types of food increase the risk of kidney disease is important to help us stay away from kidney disease. The recommended daily sodium intake is 2,000 milligrams. Normally, Thai people consume more sodium than the body needs because Thai cuisine is delicious, flavorful, and heavily seasoned. Therefore, we should control consumption to a moderate level—some excess is acceptable, but it should not be uncontrolled because the more excess sodium consumed, the harder the kidneys have to work.

Besides diet, we should also exercise and take good care of our bodies to stay away from high blood pressure and diabetes. Drinking plenty of water is important because if the body is healthy, the kidneys will be healthy too. The kidneys are responsible for excreting waste through urine. If we drink too little water, the kidneys have to work harder and cannot excrete waste effectively, leading to waste accumulation and increasing the risk of kidney disease.

“Avoid eating strongly flavored food, do not add extra dipping sauces or dressings, reduce sweet and fatty foods,
drink enough clean water
are eating habits
that help reduce the risk of kidney disease the best”