If you haven’t thought much about urinary health you’re not alone. Most people don’t until urination becomes a painful or serious problem. While other organs, like the heart or brain get a lot more attention, your kidneys are just as critical to your life and health.
Your body is about 60-70% water and everyday the normal process of metabolizing food for nutrients and energy creates waste and generates acids that must be filtered. Your kidneys are responsible for this vital function of removing waste and maintaining a slightly alkaline pH. Without this vital function, your body would be poisoned by its own waste in just a few days.
This isn’t the only role the kidneys play, they help regulate blood pressure and produce vitamin D and red blood cells. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) they are considered the home of the life essence or jing. According to TCM, a deficiency of jing shortens one’s life, making the kidney energy foundational to reducing the effects of aging.
The kidneys are also said to “build the bones,” in TCM. That is, they help to keep the structural system strong. This may be due to the fact that kidneys help balance fluid and mineral levels, preserving minerals like calcium, potassium, and magnesium for strong bones and muscles. These alkaline minerals are depleted by an overly acid pH. Thus problems like osteoporosis, arthritis, back pain, and weakness in the legs, knees, and ankles as can be thought of as coming from a deficiency of kidney energy (qi).
So, if you’re one of the millions of people suffering from one of the many diseases of the urinary system, such as edema, urinary tract infections, interstitial cystitis, urinary incontinence, kidney stones, prostatitis and so forth, the effects of these problems aren’t limited to your internal plumbing. Poor kidney function is affecting your structural system and your overall health and longevity.
In this issue of Sunshine Sharing we’ll discuss various ailments that afflict the urinary system and how to approach them with natural remedies. We’ll also talk about the vital importance of water and pH balance to overall health.
Additional Resources
Strategies for Health by Steven Horne
Modern Herbal Dispensatory by Thomas Easley and Steven Horne
You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty Water for Health, for Healing, for Life by F. Batmanghelidj
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