Know Your Kidneys: How Lab Testing Can Protect Your Health and Your Wallet
Discover the role of your kidneys, the critical lab markers for kidney health, and why early detection through affordable MLD testing could prevent costly complications.
Understanding the kidneys and how to protect yourself from the silent killer.
Your kidneys are two of the most hardworking organs in your body — filtering about 50 gallons of blood daily, removing waste, balancing fluids, managing blood pressure, and producing hormones that affect red blood cell production and bone health. But the early stages of kidney disease often show no symptoms. That’s where routine testing from My Labs Direct plays a critical role.
Essential Role of the Kidneys
Your kidneys:
- Filter out toxins, waste, and excess fluids from your blood
- Regulate blood pressure through fluid balance and hormone secretion
- Maintain electrolyte levels like sodium, potassium, calcium, and phosphate
- Help make red blood cells via erythropoietin production
- Control the body’s acid-base balance
When your kidneys aren’t functioning properly, waste builds up in the body, blood pressure can rise, and your overall health takes a serious hit.
The Critical Biomarkers of Kidney Health
Creatinine
A byproduct of muscle metabolism. High levels can indicate impaired kidney filtration.
- Normal range: 0.6–1.2 mg/dL (men), 0.5–1.1 mg/dL (women)
- Elevated levels = reduced kidney function
eGFR (Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate)
Measures how well your kidneys filter blood.
- Normal: ≥90 mL/min/1.73 m²
- <60Â indicates chronic kidney disease (CKD)
- <15Â means kidney failure
BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen)
Indicates how well your kidneys are removing nitrogenous waste.
- Normal: 7–20 mg/dL
- High BUN = impaired function or dehydration
Albumin (in urine)
Protein should not be in the urine. Its presence suggests damage to the kidney’s filtering units.
- Microalbuminuria = early warning of kidney disease
- ACR (Albumin-to-Creatinine Ratio) helps assess severity
Electrolytes
Imbalances in sodium, potassium, calcium, and phosphate often occur in kidney dysfunction and affect heart, nerve, and muscle function.
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Why Early Testing Matters
Kidney disease is often called a silent killer — symptoms don’t appear until 80–90% of kidney function is gone. That’s why annual testing is critical, especially for people with:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- A family history of kidney disease
- Autoimmune conditions like lupus
 The Real Cost of Kidney Disease
Stage | Medical Costs (per patient/year) |
Early CKD (Stages 1–2) | $1,700–$3,000 |
Moderate CKD (Stage 3) | $7,000–$14,000 |
Severe CKD (Stage 4) | $28,000+ |
End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) | $91,000+ |
Dialysis | $90,000/year |
Kidney Transplant | $260,000+ upfront + $25,000/year (maintenance) |
Source:Â National Kidney Foundation, CDC, USRDS
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Affordable, Accurate, At-Home Testing with MLD
My Labs Direct offers comprehensive kidney health panels you can complete from home — processed in our own CLIA-certified lab for fast, reliable results. We don’t send samples out to third-party labs. This allows us to control quality and turn around results quickly with no middleman markup.
Whether you’re monitoring an existing condition or just taking proactive steps, testing with MLD puts the power of prevention in your hands.
🩺 Ready to Check In On Your Kidneys?
Order your Kidney Health Panel today and get results in days — not weeks.
Protect your future, protect your finances. Start with MLD.
