Be active for 30 minutes or more on most days. If you are not active now, ask your health care provider about the types and amounts of physical activity that are right for you. Add more activity to your life.Keeping fit helps to reduce your blood pressure and therefore reduces the risk of Chronic Kidney Disease.

Common drugs such non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen are known to cause kidney damage and disease if taken regularly. Such medications probably do not pose significant danger if your kidneys are relatively healthy and you use them for emergencies only, but if you are dealing with chronic pain, such as arthritis or back pain, work with your doctor to find a way to control your pain without putting your kidneys at risk.

Choose foods that are healthy for your heart and your entire body: fresh fruits, fresh or frozen vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or fat-free dairy products. Eat healthy meals, and cut back on salt and added sugars. Aim for less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium each day. Try to have less than 10 percent of your daily calories come from added sugars.

Tips for making healthy food choices

• Cook with a mix of spices instead of salt.
• Choose veggie toppings such as spinach, broccoli, and peppers for your pizza.
• Try baking or broiling meat, chicken, and fish instead of frying.
• Serve foods without gravy or added fats.
• Try to choose foods with little or no added sugar.
• Gradually work your way down from whole milk to 2 percent milk until you’re drinking and cooking with fat-free (skim) or low-fat milk and milk products.
• Eat foods made from whole grains—such as whole wheat, brown rice, oats, and whole-grain corn—every day. Use whole-grain bread for toast and sandwiches; substitute brown rice for white rice for home-cooked meals and when dining out.
• Read food labels. Choose foods low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.
• Slow down at snack time. Eating a bag of low-fat popcorn takes longer than eating a slice of cake. Peel and eat an orange instead of drinking orange juice.
• Try keeping a written record of what you eat for a week. It can help you see when you tend to overeat or eat foods high in fat or calories.

If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease, the best way to protect your kidneys from damage is to:

Keep blood glucose numbers close to your goal. Checking your blood glucose, or blood sugar, level is an important way to manage your diabetes. Your health care team may want you to test your blood glucose one or more times a day.

Keep your blood pressure numbers close to your goal. The blood pressure goal for most people with diabetes is below 140/90 mm Hg.

Take all your medicines as prescribed. Talk with your health care provider about certain blood pressure medicines,  which may protect your kidneys.

To help prevent heart attacks and stroke, keep your cholesterol levels in the target range. There are two kinds of cholesterol in your blood: LDL and HDL. LDL or “bad” cholesterol can build up and clog your blood vessels, which can cause a heart attack or stroke. HDL or “good” cholesterol helps remove the “bad” cholesterol from your blood vessels. A cholesterol test also may measure another type of blood fat called triglycerides.

For most people, having one or two occasional drinks won’t have any serious effects on the kidneys, but excessive drinking certainly will. If you are regularly drinking past the point of moderation, you may be causing slow, long-term damage to your kidneys that can’t be repaired. Similarly Smoking slows the flow of blood to the kidneys. When less blood reaches the kidneys, it impairs their ability to function properly. Smoking also increases the risk of kidney cancer by about 50 percent.