The Healthspan Map · Body system
Liver, Kidney & Urinary
Conditions in this system
The Map lists no named condition under this system. Everything it holds here is recorded for the system as a whole, and is shown below.
Held for the whole system
| Nutrient or lever | Direction | Strength | Evidence type | What was found | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol — cut back | Do this | Strong | Established clinical | Alcohol is a primary driver of liver injury from steatosis through to cirrhosis; guidelines advise eliminating it in fatty-liver disease. | AGA patient guidance: MASLD & alcohol (opens in a new tab) |
| Anchor foods | Watch this | Strong | Established clinical | The Mediterranean diet is first-line dietary therapy for fatty-liver disease, and DASH/plant-forward patterns lower kidney-disease progression. | AGA lifestyle guidance (MASLD/NAFLD) (opens in a new tab) |
| BMI | Watch this | Strong | Established clinical | Losing 7% of body weight resolves steatohepatitis and 10% drives fibrosis regression in fatty-liver disease; obesity is also a major driver of chronic kidney disease. | AGA lifestyle guidance (MASLD/NAFLD) (opens in a new tab) |
| Blood pressure | Watch this | Strong | Established clinical | Hypertension is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease; blood-pressure control (with salt restriction and DASH-style eating) slows kidney-function decline. | Diet & guidelines for hypertension in CKD (PMC12156285) (opens in a new tab) |
| Cardio (moderate + intervals) | Do this | Strong | RCT / meta-analysis | Exercise reduces intrahepatic lipid even without weight loss (SMD -0.76); guidelines recommend 150-300 min/week of moderate activity for fatty liver. | Exercise without weight loss in NAFLD meta-analysis (PMC8466505) (opens in a new tab) |
| Choline | Eat enough of | Strong | Established clinical | Human choline deprivation causes hepatic fat accumulation and liver damage that resolves on repletion; choline exports fat from the liver. | Choline metabolism & NAFLD (PMC3601486) (opens in a new tab) |
| Iron | Don't overdo | Strong | Established clinical | Chronic iron overload (hemochromatosis or excess intake) deposits in the liver, progressing from fibrosis to cirrhosis and cancer. | Iron overload & toxicity (StatPearls NBK526131) (opens in a new tab) |
| Sodium | Don't overdo | Strong | Established clinical | Reducing dietary sodium lowers albuminuria and slows kidney-function decline; high sodium also raises urinary calcium and stone risk. | Salt restriction in CKD (PMC3540779) (opens in a new tab) |
| Sugary drinks & snacks — cut back | Do this | Strong | Established clinical | Guidelines advise limiting or eliminating commercially produced fructose in fatty-liver disease; sugar-sweetened beverages also raise kidney-stone risk. | AGA lifestyle guidance (MASLD/NAFLD) (opens in a new tab) |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | Don't overdo | Strong | Established clinical | Chronic high-dose vitamin A activates hepatic stellate cells, causing fibrosis, portal hypertension and cirrhosis. | Vitamin A (NIH LiverTox) (opens in a new tab) |
| Vitamin E | Eat enough of | Strong | RCT / meta-analysis | Vitamin E 800 IU/day improved liver histology in biopsy-proven NASH (PIVENS RCT); AASLD recommends it for non-diabetic steatohepatitis. | AASLD practice guidance on NAFLD (PMC10735173) (opens in a new tab) |
| Water | Eat enough of | Strong | RCT / trial | Adding ~1.5 L water/day cut recurrent UTIs by 48% (RCT) and halved kidney-stone recurrence. | Increased water intake & recurrent UTI (Hooton RCT, PMC6584323) (opens in a new tab) |
| Water / hydration | Do this | Strong | RCT / trial | Fluid intake giving urine >2 L/day cut kidney-stone recurrence to 12% vs 27% over five years (RCT); higher water intake also reduced recurrent UTIs by ~48%. | Water & recurrence in calcium nephrolithiasis (Borghi RCT, PMC10838424) (opens in a new tab) |
| Added Sugars | Don't overdo | Moderate | Established clinical | Excess added sugars and fructose drive hepatic fat production and steatosis; guidelines advise limiting them. | AGA lifestyle guidance (MASLD/NAFLD) (opens in a new tab) |
| Calcium | Eat enough of | Moderate | RCT / trial | Adequate dietary calcium (~1200 mg) reduced stone recurrence by ~50% vs a low-calcium diet; low calcium raises urinary oxalate and stone risk. | Nutrition & kidney-stone disease (PMC8229448) (opens in a new tab) |
| Calcium | Don't overdo | Moderate | Review / narrative | While dietary calcium protects, calcium supplements taken apart from meals can raise stone risk - calcium is the both-sides nutrient here. | Nutrition & kidney-stone disease (PMC8229448) (opens in a new tab) |
| Cardio / VO2max | Watch this | Moderate | RCT / meta-analysis | Higher aerobic fitness supports hepatic fat clearance and metabolic health. | Exercise in NAFLD meta-analysis (PMC8466505) (opens in a new tab) |
| Colours a day | Watch this | Moderate | Review / narrative | Fruit- and vegetable-rich patterns lower dietary acid load and support kidney health and stone prevention. | Diet & severity of CKD (PMC8467342) (opens in a new tab) |
| Daily movement baseline | Do this | Moderate | Review / narrative | A sedentary lifestyle with low fitness and muscle mass is associated with fatty liver. | Diet, exercise & MASLD (PMC11316715) (opens in a new tab) |
| Movement (breaking up sitting) | Do this | Moderate | Review / narrative | Reducing sedentary time supports liver and metabolic health. | Diet, exercise & MASLD (PMC11316715) (opens in a new tab) |
| Niacin (B3) | Don't overdo | Moderate | Established clinical | High-dose niacin, especially sustained-release, causes dose-dependent liver injury that can progress to acute liver failure. | Niacin (NIH LiverTox) (opens in a new tab) |
| Phosphorus | Don't overdo | Moderate | Review / narrative | Excess phosphorus, especially from additives, burdens failing kidneys, driving hyperphosphatemia and vascular/bone complications. | Diet & severity of CKD (PMC8467342) (opens in a new tab) |
| Protein | Don't overdo | Moderate | Review / narrative | High protein intake induces glomerular hyperfiltration and hypertension that can accelerate pre-existing kidney disease. | Proteins & specific diets in CKD (PMC7999704) (opens in a new tab) |
| Sleep duration | Watch this | Moderate | Systematic review | Short sleep (<=5 h, RR 1.46) and long sleep both raise incident CKD risk across 2.5 million people; short sleep also raises fatty-liver risk (OR 1.15). | Sleep duration & CKD meta-analysis (PMC11304598) (opens in a new tab) |
| Sleep quality (refreshed) | Watch this | Moderate | Systematic review | Obstructive sleep apnea (fragmented, unrefreshing sleep) is independently associated with kidney impairment and with hepatic steatosis. | OSA & renal impairment meta-analysis (PMC7987709) (opens in a new tab) |
| Strength (resistance) | Do this | Moderate | RCT / meta-analysis | Resistance training lowers cholesterol and triglycerides and, combined with aerobic exercise, reduces liver fat. | Exercise in NAFLD meta-analysis (PMC8466505) (opens in a new tab) |
| Supplement discipline | Do this | Moderate | Established clinical | Megadoses of vitamin A, niacin, iron, vitamin C and vitamin D can injure the liver or kidneys; food-first, sensible dosing protects both organs. | Vitamin A hepatotoxicity (NIH LiverTox) (opens in a new tab) |
| Tobacco / vaping — quit | Do this | Moderate | Systematic review | Current smokers have ~34% higher risk of incident chronic kidney disease (meta-analysis); smoking also accelerates liver fibrosis. | Smoking & CKD meta-analysis (PubMed 28339863) (opens in a new tab) |
| Ultra-processed food — cut back | Do this | Moderate | Review / narrative | Ultra-processed foods and red/processed meat raise blood pressure, acid load and uremic toxins, worsening kidney and liver risk. | Proteins & specific diets in CKD (PMC7999704) (opens in a new tab) |
| Vitamin C | Don't overdo | Moderate | Cohort / observational | High-dose vitamin C (>=1000 mg/day) is metabolized to oxalate, raising the risk of oxalate kidney stones and, rarely, oxalate nephropathy. | Secondary hyperoxaluria from high-dose vitamin C (PMC11924107) (opens in a new tab) |
| Vitamin D | Don't overdo | Moderate | Established clinical | Vitamin D megadoses cause hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria, depositing calcium in the kidney (nephrocalcinosis) and causing injury. | Vitamin D intoxication & oxalate nephropathy (PMC12682256) (opens in a new tab) |
| Waist-to-height ratio | Watch this | Moderate | Cohort / observational | Central adiposity tracks fatty-liver severity and metabolic-kidney risk; reducing it improves hepatic fat. | Hypocaloric diet & hepatic steatosis (PMC12455765) (opens in a new tab) |
| Waist-to-hip ratio | Watch this | Moderate | Cohort / observational | Central/abdominal adiposity is linked to fatty-liver and cardiometabolic-kidney risk. | Hypocaloric diet & hepatic steatosis (PMC12455765) (opens in a new tab) |
| Body Roundness Index | Watch this | Emerging | Cohort / observational | Central-adiposity indices flag the visceral fat that drives fatty liver and metabolic-kidney risk. | Hypocaloric diet & hepatic steatosis (PMC12455765) (opens in a new tab) |
| Cook real food | Do this | Emerging | Review / narrative | Home-cooked whole foods cut the sodium and ultra-processed load that burdens the kidneys and liver. | Proteins & specific diets in CKD (PMC7999704) (opens in a new tab) |
| EPA/DHA (omega-3) | Eat enough of | Emerging | Review / narrative | Omega-3 supplementation produces small reductions in urinary protein in CKD, though effects on GFR decline are inconsistent. | Diet & CKD (ScienceDirect S2161831322002241) (opens in a new tab) |
| Saturated fat | Don't overdo | Emerging | Established clinical | Diets high in saturated fat (red/processed meat) worsen hepatic steatosis; guidelines advise minimizing it. | AGA lifestyle guidance (MASLD/NAFLD) (opens in a new tab) |