Our kidneys work extremely hard to dispose of all the excess salt and water we consume. During this process, they also eliminate toxins that would otherwise accumulate and negatively affect our bodies. In addition, our kidneys control blood acidity and blood pressure levels. “When kidneys fail, the body is literally overwhelmed by excess water, salt and toxins, which defeat every other organ and body system,” says Association for Dietetics in South Africa (ADSA) spokesperson

Diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes, has become so common that diabetic kidney disease (nephropathy) has leaped ahead of high blood pressure as the leading cause of kidney failure in much of the world. Kidney failure is a serious matter: The kidneys’ job is to filter waste products and excess fluids from the blood circulating through our bodies. If the kidneys fail, survival depends on either dialysis (being hooked up to a machine to do the kidneys’ blood-filtering) or a k