Cut the Salt

About 13 percent of Americans have chronic kidney disease, but most don't realize it. In a report published in the Journal of the american Medical association, reseachers studied more than 28,000 U.S. adults and found that just 11.6 percent of men and 5.5 percent of women with moderate kidney disease knew about their condition.

"The biggest problem is that kidney disease has no symptoms until you're down to about 30 percent kidney function or less," says National Kidney Foundation spokesperson Leslie Spry, M.D. Since the condition can lead to kidney failure and raise the risk of heart attack and stroke, he urges testing for anyone with risk factors like high blood pressure or a family history of the disease, and anyone over 65.

To keep your kidneys healthy, Spry recomends cutting back on salt, watching your cholesterol, and sticking with the principles of the DASH diet.

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