This Sat., May 14, The University of Washington Kidney Research Institute (KRI), in conjunction with a host of community partners, will host a Kidney Health Fair from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Seattle Vocational Institute (SVI) 2120 S. Jackson Street in Seattle.
This event will feature free health screenings, healthy snacks, information on how to prevent kidney disease, and local chefs who’ll be making kidney-friendly foods to sample.
Your kidneys are important! They help filter out waste and water from your blood, regulate your blood pressure and make red blood cells. If you have kidney failure, you’ll need regular dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant to survive.
You can help prevent kidney disease by eating healthy, exercising and controlling your blood pressure and diabetes.
One in seven American adults has kidney disease. In the African American community, the number increases four-fold. Although African Americans make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, 35 percent of individuals with kidney failure on dialysis are African American. In addition, African American men are 10 to 14 times more likely to develop kidney failure due to high blood pressure than Caucasian men in the same age group.
Participants in the Kidney Health Fair will learn how to improve their lives to avoid kidney disease. This includes: Treating high blood pressure and diabetes, two of the leading causes of kidney failure; Quitting smoking; Reducing added salt and processed, packaged and fast food; Eating healthy to avoid obesity.; Exercising at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week; Avoiding the overuse of pain relievers such as ibuprofen and naproxen, which can damage kidneys.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.kri.washington.edu/kidney-health-fair.
