March 2009 HealthierYou Calendar

Chronic Kidney Disease (CDK)

Key to the Matching Activity

• American Diabetes Alert Day (4th Tuesday in March)
• National Nutrition and Kidney Month
• Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Fact or Fiction

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) does not affect children.

Fiction: Diabetes and CKD are global public health problems. The elderly, children, adolescents, and pregnant women with diabetes are at the greatest risk of CKD and require needs-specific approaches to management. In other words, each patient requires a unique plan of care appropriate to their needs.

In adults, the major causes of CKD are diabetes and high blood pressure. In children, the major causes of CKD include other causes such as:

• Problems in the urinary tract that block the normal flow of urine.
• Inherited diseases such as polycystic kidney disease (PKD), which causes fluid-filled pouches to form in the kidneys and enlargement of the organ over time.
• Conditions that damage the filtering units of the kidneys (the glomeruli).
• Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a disease that affects both the blood and blood vessels - affecting the kidneys' small blood vessels. HUS may also affect other organs such as the heart and brain.

Diabetes and high blood pressure are on the rise among children, mostly because of the growing concerns with increased weight and physical inactivity. High blood pressure is common in children with CKD putting them at a high risk of developing heart disease as they age. Early detection and treatment of high blood pressure and diabetes help to reduce the chance of these complications.

Set aside some time with your children to take the Kidney IQ Quiz.

Upcoming KEEP Event nearest you:

• www.kidney.org
• www.nkdep.nih.gov

NASA in Your Life

Sorbent Dialysis

Organon Teknika Corporation's REDY 2000 dialysis machine employs technology originally developed under NASA contract by Marquardt Corporation. The chemical process developed during the project could be applied to removing toxic waste from used dialysis fluid. This discovery led to the development of a kidney dialysis machine using sorbent" dialysis, a method of removing urea from human blood by treating a dialysate solution.

The process saves electricity and, because the need for a continuous water supply is eliminated, the patient has greater freedom.

To learn more about this topic please viist www.sti.nasa.gov.

Down-To-Earth

Join the GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP!

The hardworking volunteers donate millions of hours over a three-month time span, March 1 through May 31, to clean, beautify, and improve thousands of communities, parks, and seashores in all 50 states and beyond. There are more than 565 certified community affiliates.

Find the affiliate near you!

To learn more about this topic please visit www.kab.org.

HealthierYou by Choice

National Celery Month

Celery seeds were brought to Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1850 from Scotland. Today, celery is predominately grown domestically in California and Florida. A member of the carrot family, celery was first recorded as a plant in France in 1623 and was probably developed either there or in Italy.

Celery is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is a very good source of dietary fiber, potassium, and folate. Salt-sensitive individuals can enjoy celery because, per stalk, it contains approximately 35 milligrams of sodium.

Remember to keep track of your entire sodium intake throughout the day.

More information at:

• www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov
• www.whfoods.com
• Diabetic diet
  • www.nlm.nih.gov
  • www.nkdep.nih.gov
  • diabetes.niddk.nih.gov
• Renal diet: uuhsc.utah.edu