What if I tell you that you could take care of your kidneys and cleanse them with something as simple as drinking green tea.
Many people with kidney issues leave coffee and teas due to the prospect of damage that they can cause to the body. But is green tea beneficial & safe for your kidneys?
In this article you will know everything about kidney care and how is green tea good for your kidneys.
How do Kidneys Function?
Before we get to cleansing the kidneys’ part, let us understand how kidneys work. Our body is blessed with two bean-shaped kidneys, both below the rib cage on each side.
The kidneys are made up of nephrons which have a glomerulus and a tubule. The glomerulus is a filter that filters the blood and the tubule returns the fresh clean blood. Kidneys filter 150 quarts of blood every day.
Nature has surely taken care of the human body by creating kidneys but due to poor diet and unhealthy lifestyles sometimes we get kidney issues and it becomes essential to take care of them by opting for healthier alternatives.
If the kidneys become unhealthy, you can face a lot of issues like kidney stones, kidney failure, uremia, and other chronic diseases.
DID YOU KNOW? We only require one-half of a kidney to filter our whole body’s blood.
Let’s see if green can be beneficial for the kidneys or not.
Is Green Tea Good for Your Kidneys?
Yes, green tea is good for your kidneys. It is a low-calorie and low caffeine drink which makes it beneficial.
Green tea not only has benefits for the kidneys it also provides a lot of other health uses like preventing cancer cells, aiding weight loss, and making immunity stronger.
The diuretic effects of green tea help in water retention and cleansing the kidneys by making you urinate frequently.
This cleans your kidneys and helps them function well.
Cleansing Benefits of Green Tea for Kidneys
Green tea helps the kidneys in the following ways:
1) Prevent Chronic Disease
It contains rich amounts of antioxidants which stop many kidney diseases.
The polyphenols in green tea have a great role in preventing hyperuricemia which is responsible for chronic kidney diseases and preglomerular arteriopathy.
2) Kidney Stones
The high level of epigallocatechin gallate in green tea is known to prevent the formation of kidney stones.
It helps already formed stones in your kidney by helping in the removal of them.
The green tea extracts along with calcium oxalate bond together and enables the crystals to make different shapes. Thus, prevent them to pile together in the kidney to form stones. Drinking green tea early in the morning can help the stones to release easily.
3) Anticancer Therapy
The most powerful antioxidant Epicatechin gallate in green tea reduces inflammation and helps the cells to be alive.
It prevents kidney damage and turns out to be great anti-cancer therapy.
4) Renal Function
There is a form of kidney disease that slowly yet progressively leads to a loss in renal functions which are important to strive for.
Doctors recommend green tea to prevent kidney damage and end-stage renal failure.
5) Oxidative Stress
This can be caused by diabetes, malaria, etc. Oxidative stress can lead directly to chronic kidney disease and its progression.
Green tea supports your kidneys and helps stave off renal decline and oxidative stress. Therefore, regulates blood sugar controlling diabetes in the first place.
Can Green Tea Be Used for Dialysis Patients?
Yes, green tea is good for dialysis patients and can be taken in the form of capsules as well as a drink.
Daily intake of green tea can help dialysis patients in the following way:
- Green tea helps to improve kidney diseases like uric acid, creatinine levels, and glucose excretion.
- Capsules of Green tea taken for at least 6 months can reduce inflammation and lowers oxidative stress.
- It has a positive impact on patients going through atherosclerotic dialysis.
Which Teas are Best for Kidneys?
It is a known fact that most teas contain caffeine that may dehydrate you and may not be best for your kidneys.
But the good news is there are some teas with a minimal amount of caffeine that are very good for kidneys. These teas are as follows.
1) Green Tea
Now we know how a brewed cup of green tea may be beneficial in treating kidney diseases. It even helps in eliminating kidney stones by reducing the crystals to make a stone.
Green tea in moderation is one of the healthiest beverages to drink for kidneys.
2) Rooibos Tea
Rooibos tea is a great and useful tea that is used for many ailments. The popularity of this tea is because it is low in caffeine, tannins and is oxalate-free.
In animal studies, no side effects of rooibos tea were shown. When it was given as the only drink there were no negative effects on kidneys.
There are no adverse effects on human kidneys, it eliminates the toxins and helps the kidneys function well.
3) Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea is a safe tea that is one of the best caffeine-free options. It has a repairing effect on the kidneys and increases kidney functions.
This tea reduces kidney dysfunction and has a positive effect on kidney health.
4) Sambong Tea
A study shows that Sambong tea has extracts of Blumea Balsamifera, these helps reduce the size of crystals in the kidneys.
Sambong is a tropical shrub found in the Philippines and India. It may also help in preventing kidney stones.
5) Hydrangea Tea
Hydrangea tea extracts protect the kidneys from diseases. This tea helps maintain kidney and liver functions.
Adding this tea to your routine may be helpful to people who are prone to kidney stones.
Green Tea Side Effects on Kidneys
Green tea can become unsafe for people with kidney disease when it is consumed in large quantities.
Possible side effects of green tea may occur due to caffeine overdose. Be cautious of the following downsides of green tea.
- Large quantities of green tea may cause the toxicity of polyphenols. In return, it disturbs the kidney functions by destroying antioxidant enzymes.
- High blood pressure increases the risk of kidney diseases and affects kidney functions. Green tea when consumed in excess is not good for people with high BP.
- Too much green tea caffeine can cause kidney failure and cause bladder control issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are related questions to kidney and safety of drinks to be taken while you face kidney issues. We answered them for you.
Is Black Tea Bad for Your Kidneys?
Black tea in moderation is not bad for your kidneys. Drinking 4 cups of brewed black tea would not pose a risk to kidney stones. However, black tea contains higher oxalate levels than most teas which can promote stone formation if you consume too much black tea.
Is Coffee Bad for Your Kidneys?
The answer is Yes and No. Consuming one to two cups of coffee may protect against renal failure. The benefit could be due to a phytoestrogen in coffee called trigonelline. But a large amount of caffeine can dehydrate you which is not a suitable thing for a person with kidney issues.
Is Yerba Mate Tea Good Or Bad For Kidneys?
Yerba Mate tea has the property to dissolve kidney stones. It is used as an alternative to coffee because the caffeine content is equivalent to it. So, care should be taken before drinking a lot of this tea. Thus, one or two cups of Yerba Mate may turn out to be good for kidneys.
Conclusion
Green tea work as a diuretic and help the kidneys in flushing out toxins and function well. It makes you pee more increases the outflow of excess water and helps in water retention. Due to this effect kidneys functions are increased and the risk of kidney stones reduces.
Thus, green tea is a good option for your kidneys but make sure to drink it moderately.
