How to Keep Your Kidneys Healthy as You Age

Most people don’t give much thought to their kidneys until something goes wrong. But as you grow older, your kidney health deserves increasingly more attention. The kidneys quietly handle several essential bodily functions, which include filtering waste, balancing fluids, and helping to control blood pressure. With age, these functions can slowly become less efficient, even in people who have never had kidney problems before.

This natural decline makes older adults more sensitive to issues like dehydration, certain medications, and chronic conditions that place extra stress on your body. Fortunately, kidney disease isn’t an unavoidable part of aging. After the age of 60, certain lifestyle choices can help to protect your kidney function and support long-term health.

HOW AGING AFFECTS KIDNEY FUNCTION

As we grow older, our kidneys undergo gradual changes that can affect how efficiently they work. Aging kidneys tend to filter blood more slowly over time, even in people who don’t have chronic kidney disease.

Scientific reviews show that normal aging leads to a reduction in the number of filtering units (nephrons) and a decrease in overall kidney function, which is reflected in lower glomerular filtration rates (GFR) as people age. These structural and functional changes make older adults more vulnerable to fluid and electrolyte imbalances.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, kidney function naturally declines with age, especially after age 60, and age-related changes include stiffening of the blood vessels and a reduced ability to recover from stressors like dehydration and illness. While these changes do not automatically mean someone will develop kidney disease, they do reduce the body’s “margin of safety,” meaning that the kidneys are less resilient to added strain from high blood pressure, diabetes, and medications.

Older adults also have a harder time balancing fluids and electrolytes. With aging, the kidneys’ ability to concentrate or dilute urine becomes less precise, and older people are more prone to dehydration. This combination of slower kidney filtration and less efficient fluid regulation makes it easier for waste products to build up and for complications to occur if hydration and health habits are not carefully maintained.

HYDRATION HABITS FOR HEALTHIER KIDNEYS

Staying well-hydrated is one of the simplest and most effective habits for supporting kidney function. The kidneys rely on adequate fluid levels to filter waste from the blood and produce urine. Without enough water, this filtering process becomes more difficult and can increase stress on the organs. Water also helps to keep your blood vessels open so nutrients can efficiently reach the kidneys.

As we age, several factors make maintaining hydration more challenging. Older adults often have a reduced sense of thirst, meaning that they may not feel thirsty even when their bodies need fluids. At the same time, aging kidneys lose some of their ability to concentrate urine, so older adults can lose more water through urination even when their bodies should be conserving it. This combination increases the risk of dehydration and fluid imbalance.

When the body is dehydrated, waste products and acids can build up more easily, and repeated episodes of dehydration are associated with a higher risk of kidney injury and the formation of kidney stones. Adequate fluid intake will help to dilute minerals in the urine that can form painful kidney stones and support the body’s ability to eliminate bacteria, reducing the risk of urinary tract infections that can also impact kidney health.

Since hydration needs vary depending on the climate, activity level, medications, and health status, there’s no single ideal amount of water for everyone. Rather than sticking to a strict number, a practical approach is to drink enough fluids so that your urine is pale yellow or colorless and to pay attention to signs like dry mouth, dark urine, or fatigue. In hotter weather, during exercise, or if you’re experiencing symptoms such as a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, your body may lose more fluids and require more hydration.

KIDNEY-FRIENDLY DIETARY CHOICES

What you eat has a direct impact on how hard your kidneys have to work, and that becomes more important with age.

One of the biggest dietary concerns after 60 involves sodium. A diet high in salt can raise your blood pressure, which is one of the leading contributors to kidney damage over time. Cutting back on heavily salted and packaged foods can ease this strain and support both kidney and heart health.

Protein is another area where balance matters. While protein helps to maintain muscle strength as we age, consistently consuming a diet high in protein can increase the kidneys’ workload. Most older adults do best with moderate, steady protein intake rather than extremes.

Focusing on whole, minimally processed foods also helps to reduce strain on the kidneys. Packaged foods often contain hidden sodium and additives that aging kidneys handle less efficiently. A diet built around fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats supports blood pressure control, lowers inflammation, and helps to preserve kidney function over the long term.