Protein and kidneys

donnam40
donnam40 Posts: 246 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi All,

I recently increased my protein intake - trying to get over 100g per day.

I have a medical condition and the medication I am taking for it requires testing every four weeks for liver and kidney function, amongst other things.

My last test result showed my kidneys were having some issues and the doctor asked about protein supplements. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this? I will be talking to my specialist about it, but was curious to know if others had this experience.

Thanks,

Donna

Replies

  • DocCollins_SFA
    DocCollins_SFA Posts: 113
    Bump. I'd be interested to know too.
  • craaash80
    craaash80 Posts: 3
    Yep, there is a study (published in the Annals of Internal Medicine by doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston) about this correlation between eating a high- protein diet and an acceleration in kidney problems.

    IMHO, it's often related to body building workouts as well (I experienced kidneys issues about 5 years ago). Doctors told me that our body produces creatinine during anaerobic / violent efforts. Creatinine is an indicator of kidney efficiency (the more it stays in your blood, the less efficiency).

    Here's the article
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-172320/Diet-damage-kidneys.html
  • adaplas
    adaplas Posts: 17 Member
    Protein restriction was shown in a few studies to slow down the progression of glomerular disease and/or proteinuria. If you have these problems, a nephrologist would probably advise you to a protein restriction of 0.8 - 1.0 gms per kg body weight per day.
  • TheWidget
    TheWidget Posts: 13 Member
    I've read it's very important to drink even more fluids when on a higher protein diet for related reasons (kidney function).
  • zechks
    zechks Posts: 224
    Hi All,

    I recently increased my protein intake - trying to get over 100g per day.

    I have a medical condition and the medication I am taking for it requires testing every four weeks for liver and kidney function, amongst other things.

    My last test result showed my kidneys were having some issues and the doctor asked about protein supplements. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this? I will be talking to my specialist about it, but was curious to know if others had this experience.

    Thanks,

    Donna

    Drink lots and lots of water.. Like a gallon or more. That's how you do when you are on a high protein diet.. When you pee and it's dark yellow, then you're not getting enough water (unless you're taking medications that makes it like that). That will send you to the bathroom quite often but hey, at least i know im flushing all toxins out of me everytime i pee. So.. yeah my advice would be drink more and more water. :)
  • ShotQueen76
    ShotQueen76 Posts: 7 Member
    My husband was diagnosed with kidney disease a few years ago. Per his doctors request, he is now on a low-protein diet (so we are essentially vegetarians) and drinks two liters of water daily. Not sure if this will help, but good luck!
  • emmalouc93
    emmalouc93 Posts: 328 Member
    I have very bad kidneys, and I cannot have protein supplements, but I found it is more to do with Phosphorous than actually Protein, as I can't have anything with Phosphoric acid either.
  • craaash80
    craaash80 Posts: 3
    I have very bad kidneys, and I cannot have protein supplements, but I found it is more to do with Phosphorous than actually Protein, as I can't have anything with Phosphoric acid either.

    Hi,
    it really depends on which kind of issues we are talking about. For example, I suffer from calcium-oxalate stones, and I need a supplementary intake of potassium citrate (that lowers my urine pH). One friend of mine suffers from phosphate stones, thus he needs more magnesium.
  • donnam40
    donnam40 Posts: 246 Member
    Hi All,

    I recently increased my protein intake - trying to get over 100g per day.

    I have a medical condition and the medication I am taking for it requires testing every four weeks for liver and kidney function, amongst other things.

    My last test result showed my kidneys were having some issues and the doctor asked about protein supplements. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this? I will be talking to my specialist about it, but was curious to know if others had this experience.



    Thanks,

    Donna

    Drink lots and lots of water.. Like a gallon or more. That's how you do when you are on a high protein diet.. When you pee and it's dark yellow, then you're not getting enough water (unless you're taking medications that makes it like that). That will send you to the bathroom quite often but hey, at least i know im flushing all toxins out of me everytime i pee. So.. yeah my advice would be drink more and more water. :)

    I already drink loads of water - usually around 20 glasses/day. Can't take on any more than that!
  • donnam40
    donnam40 Posts: 246 Member
    Thanks for all of your responses. I'll take a read of that information and see what I can glean.

    High protein might not be for me.

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