Some articles say that drinking more water and urinating more can protect the kidneys, but doesn’t urinating more also increase the workload of the kidneys, and won’t the kidneys be exhausted if they work too much? The human kidney is the main organ to regulate the body’s water balance, drink more water will not damage the kidneys, on the contrary, there is a protective effect on the urinary system. But be careful to drink water in the right way to be able to.

First, why drinking more water will protect the kidneys The human body has two kidneys, which are responsible for filtering the blood. After the blood enters the glomerulus, it is filtered to form primary urine. The difference between primary urine and blood is only that not only blood cells and macromolecular proteins, the rest of the components are the same as plasma. In the original urine flow through the renal tubules, the original urine in the vast majority of water, electrolytes, glucose and other substances useful to the human body, and is reabsorbed back into the bloodstream, only residual uric acid, urea and other metabolic wastes, and some of the water and electrolytes in the formation of a real urine together out of the body.

It is not the total amount of urine that has a detrimental effect on the kidneys, but the concentration of urine. When insufficient water is consumed, the urine will be concentrated and the concentration of metabolic wastes in it will increase, which may precipitate crystals, form stones and cause damage to the kidneys. So drinking more water and ensuring sufficient urine volume will have a protective effect on the kidneys.

Second, drinking more water will not hurt the kidneys Many people are worried that drinking more water will increase the workload of the kidneys and hurt the kidneys. But in fact, the working capacity of the kidneys is underestimated by most people. The human body’s two kidneys have 1 million to 2 million renal units, only need to use 25% to 30% of them to meet the body’s metabolic needs.

So in drinking more water, the body opens up more renal units for work and does not burden the kidneys. Excess water will be discharged with the urine, to dilute the urine, to avoid the metabolic waste in the urine precipitation of crystals, has formed crystals will also be dissolved, you can prevent the generation of stones. Increased urine will cause the urinary system “flushing” effect, reducing the chances of pathogenic bacteria into the urethra, preventing urinary tract infections.

Third, avoid incorrect way of drinking water Drinking a lot of water won’t hurt your kidneys, but the wrong way of drinking water may have a bad effect on your kidneys.

1、Do not drink water when thirsty: many people are used to thirsty to drink water, but people in the thirsty, the body has actually begun to lack of water, the brain will think that the human body into the “water shortage state”, the hypothalamus increased secretion of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) to increase the reabsorption capacity of the renal tubules of water, the urine will be further concentrated, it is possible to This may cause damage to the kidneys.

2、Do not often drink strong tea and vegetable soup: in the composition of kidney stones, accounting for 80% of calcium oxalate, oxalic acid in the urine and calcium combined to form stones. And in green vegetables, tea, all contain oxalic acid, and oxalic acid is soluble in water. So if you often drink strong tea and vegetable soup, it will lead to excessive intake of oxalic acid, and there is a risk of inducing kidney stones.

3、Do not replace water with drinks: many drinks for taste, which will add a lot of sugar, excessive intake of sugar will cause obesity, induced atherosclerosis, resulting in renal artery stenosis, causing damage to the kidneys.

Fourth, the correct drink more water is a small amount of water, the body’s water, with breathing, sweating, defecation, urination and other ways of non-stop loss, an adult normal activity, every day about 2000ml ~ 2500ml of water loss. Daily consumption of vegetables, rice, fruits contain a certain amount of water, nutrients metabolism will also generate part of the water, so the “Chinese Dietary Guidelines” recommended that Chinese adults drink about 2,000 ml of water per day, can meet the body’s needs.

However, it is not recommended to drink a large amount of water at a time, otherwise a large amount of water in a short period of time into the circulation, will aggravate the burden on the circulatory system. The correct way is to divide 2000ml of water per day into several portions and drink them at intervals of 1~2 hours. If the day is hot or exercise a lot of sweat, the amount of water should be increased.

To summarize, drinking more water not only won’t hurt your kidneys, but also has a good protective effect on your kidneys. Make sure to drink more than 2000ml per day, and when you drink water, you should pay attention to avoid the wrong way of drinking water, the right way is to drink water in small amount and many times per day.