As a Dr. of Naturopathic medicine, Dr. Henderson educates individuals about the benefits of alternative medicine for renal and kidney care, hypertension, and nephritis. She helps patients stay off dialysis as long as possible, have more energy throughout the day, and protect their heart and bones from the long-term damage of kidney disease.
At the age of 22, Dr. Henderson was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). While on dialysis, Jenna searched for the best of alternative medicine to preserve her health. The information was not readily available, but she did her own research and found a protocol that worked. She then went to medical school to become a doctor of Naturopathic medicine so she could help others with kidney disease.
Today Dr. Henderson consults with kidney patients all over the world. She is the author of numerous articles about kidney health and natural medicine, and people seek her out as a world class authority on safe alternative medicine for kidney disease. Dr. Henderson sees patients in her North Haven Connecticut office and does long distance consults by telephone and Skype. Her clinic is called Holistic Kidney.
We invited Dr. Henderson to write a guest blog on kidney health for the elderly. Her advice is good for people of all ages to help them avoid kidney disease:
Keeping Your Kidneys Healthy for Life
What Seniors Can Do to Avoid the Silent Killer
by Dr. Jenna Henderson
Our kidneys work hard all day, every day, and as the decades go by stress on the kidneys takes its toll. Most dialysis centers are full of senior citizens, but most of the time kidney failure is preventable. Some loss of kidney function is a natural part of the aging process and we shouldn’t expect our kidneys to be as strong as when we were in our 20s. But this doesn’t mean that we need to accept a decline in our health.
By staying on top of our health, we can ensure that our kidneys keep working. Here are some easy tips to keep your kidneys going strong for years to come.
- Maintain a healthy weight. This is harder after age 40, but it definitely pays off. Extra pounds
on our bodies make more work for our kidneys. - Have your blood pressure checked on a regular basis. Our blood pressure may go over 140/90 as we get older. High tension inside the small blood vessels of the kidneys can cause damage.
- Stay well hydrated. Our sense of thirst diminishes as we get older. Drink before you’re thirsty.
- Avoid convenience foods. If we’re living alone, it’s tempting to just grab something quick and not go to the trouble of cooking a full meal. Get together with family and friends and make the effort to make real food.
- Eat healthy fats. Your kidneys are one of the fattiest tissues in your body and the quality of fats in the diet will have an impact on your kidneys. Eat plenty of flax seed oil, olive oil, macadamia oil and coconut oil. Also eating cold water fish like mackerel helps.
- Avoid the bad fats– hydrogenated oil, margarine, canola and corn oil. Also bake your food instead of frying it.
- Laughter! It truly is the best medicine. Stress will raise blood pressure and increase levels of cortisol and inflammation. Laughter breaks up the internal tension and produces endorphins with a healing effect.
These are general guidelines that can help anyone stay healthy. If you have any ongoing health
concerns such as diabetes it’s important to stay on top of your situation and manage your condition.
Working with a naturopathic physician can help you find an individualized plan to address your
unique needs.
We thank Dr. Henderson for her advice. Keeping your kidneys healthy is another way to preserve the quality of life!
