Modified Low Carbohydrate Diet Produces Dramatic Benefits In Kidney Patients!

By Anthony Colpo, December 21, 2003.

One of the most frequently-repeated criticisms of low-carbohydrate, higher protein diets is that they will allegedly lead to kidney damage. There is indeed evidence to support the notion that high-protein intakes may be harmful to people with pre-existing kidney damage. In the long-running Nurses' Health Study, for example, eleven years of follow-up showed that a high protein intake was not associated with renal function decline in women who had normal renal function at the start of the study. However, high total protein intake, particularly high intake of non-dairy animal protein, showed a borderline significant relationship with declining kidney function in women with mild renal insufficiency upon commencement of the study.(1) Protein metabolism results in the production of urea, a waste product which must be filtered through the kidneys. While such increases pose little threat to healthy kidneys, damaged kidneys may not be able to safely process increased amounts of urea. Critics of low carbohydrate diets, however, seek to convince those ignorant of the above facts that high protein intakes will damage healthy kidneys. Repeated studies have shown such a claim to be completely false.(2-6)

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