Kidneys remove toxins, excess water and waste products from your body

Next Thursday is World Kidney Day, an annual campaign to help raise awareness of kidneys and show the suffering caused when they don’t work properly. Kidneys remove toxins, excess water and waste products from your body. They play a vital role in regulating your blood pressure and they activate vitamin D to help keep your bones and muscles in good shape. Kidney disease is hard to detect in the early stages and its possible to lose 90% of your kidney function before you see any symptoms. I'm an ambassador for the Northern Ireland Kidney Research Fund and if you go to their website – nikidneyresearch.org you’ll find all the information you need.

Eating a healthy diet is one of the best ways to avoid kidney disease. A couple of years ago I, like many people my age, was diagnosed with high blood pressure. It’s under control now with the help of medication but made me sit up and take note of a few things. When you’re training to be a chef it is hammered into you (sometimes literally) to season all the time and by that to add salt. Over the years I've cut down on salt in my cooking and substitute spices, herbs, citrus, vinegar for a good bit of it. If you finish off a sauce, pasta, stew or soup with loads of chopped parsley and a teaspoon of fresh thyme or rosemary it really flavours it without the need for excess salt. It’s a work in progress trying to undo all the habits but I think I'm getting there. Sometimes when I cook with other chefs I really am shocked at how much salt they use so something has changed. I still use salt but prefer a small amount of a good salt rather than table salt which has anti caking agents added. It’s good to aware of hidden salts in bread, ready meals, stock cubes and sauces. Check the packaging to keep yourself right.

Eating fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and moderate amounts of protein combined with drinking water are the best way to keep the kidneys working properly. Drinking water is difficult but force yourself and you'll really feel the better for it. Cutting down on caffeine and alcohol will also make a difference. One of the things I do every week is go to my local farmshop and buy a big bunch of beetroot. They come in different shapes and sizes, are grown in the sandy, fertile soil around Magilligan and have a healthy layer of muck. Peel them and coarsely grate them. Fry off two red onions in a small amount of oil, add a teaspoon of cumin seeds, a teaspoon of turmeric and a tablespoon of grated ginger. Cook for a minute then mix into a couple of grated beetroots with a couple of tablespoons of balsamic. Mix well. Eat this with grilled meats, stir into a stews or pasta or eat it on its own when you're feeling peckish.

The recipes this week are specifically for those wishing to protect the kidneys. I’m not an nutritionist but these have been approved and you can find further recipes on the Kidney Research UK website. The first one is for a spiced yoghurt marinated chicken traybake and there’s a carrot and pineapple loaf for afters. Usually I’d say have a wee cup of tea with the cake but this time I’m saying have a pint of water.​​​​​​​