If you had to rank the most important organ in your body just which one would it be?

If you ask me I probably rank my top 5

1. Brain
2. Heart
3. Kidney
4. Lungs
5. Bones

Now I may be biased coming off the fresh off the high of World Kidney Day I decided to scour the medical universe just to see what all the kidneys could do. For those of you caught my World Kidney Day Lunch and Learn than you know some of the benefits the kidneys serve to us on a day by day, minute by minute basis.

After doing some homework here are some of the most common facts & functions of the kidney. 

1. They are actually shaped like the kidney bean
2. They are the size of your fist
3. The kidney's have a high blood flow than even the brain, heart & liver.
4. They are the body's natural filtration system – filtering the blood to make urine
5. Each kidney carries about 1-2 million little filtering systems called nephrons
6. They help regulate blood pressure
7. They are responsible for the water balance in our bodies [ they are the reason why when you drink too much you pee out everything]
8. They help get rid of waste products in your body
9. They filter out about 120-150 quarts of blood a day
10. Have a vitamin D issue, it may be the fault of your kidney
11. You can survive on only one kidney
12. You can never reverse the damage of kidney disease but we can slow it down
13. Diabetes & High Blood pressure are the top two causes of kidney disease
14. 10% of the population is affected by chronic kidney disease
15. There are 5 stages of kidney function
16. The last stage is called End Stage Renal Disease and those people are treated with dialysis
17. 2 million people worldwide are treated with dialysis daily
18. The majority of those treated come from 5 countries  (USA, Japan,Germany,Brazil, and Italy) even though they only make up 12% of those who actually need it
19. 80% of patients who get care for kidney failure are in affluent countries
20. In the United States alone treatment for kidney disease exceeds $48 Billion a year

If you have not had a chance check out World Kidney's official website  for more information.
Also, don't forget to sign up to be apart of the 3000 members of Dr. Berry's Health Squad.
[bctt tweet=”Diabetes & High Blood pressure are the top two causes of kidney disease” username=”drberrypierre”]
[bctt tweet=”The kidneys filter out about 120-150 quarts of blood a day” username=”drberrypierre”]
[bctt tweet=”Did you know you can survive on one kidney” username=”drberrypierre”]
[bctt tweet=”The kidneys filter out about 120-150 quarts of blood a day” username=”drberrypierre”]