I have asked this question on the Bernstein site, but I cannot get to that website tonight and thought I would post it here.

It looks like I may have chronic renal failure and all the research I can find states that high protein intake is not good for damaged kidneys. Once a patient goes on dialysis, then they need higher levels of protein, but in the beginning stages of kidney disease all the articles that I can find state that high protein is bad.

I do find articles that say that high protein is good for folks who have healthy kidneys, but not the ones whose kidneys are unhealthy- this was stated within the same article. These articles I am reading seem to be from reputable organizations and they have the research to back them up.

I would welcome any input on research that shows high protein is not bad for persons with chronic renal failure (NOT dialysis patients).

Thanks!

Ramona

From my understanding, if your kidneys are not healthy , you should avoid a high protein diet.

Hi Ramona!

I'd say that this might be a question better asked of your nephrologist than us since he/she has a much better picture of how advanced your kidney disease might be.
I can say that Dr. Bernstein was exhibiting classic signs of diabetic nephropathy and reversed that with tight control of his blood sugars (see his website for details).
Having to lower your protein intake also doesn't necessarily mean that you must give up on low carb and good blood sugar control altogether. Depending on what your (or your doctor's) definition of what constitutes "high protein" is, you may just be able to make up for the difference in calories caused by decreasing your percentage of protein by increasing your percentage of calories coming from fat.
Just some things to consider....

According to Dr. B's book dietary protein has nothing to do with kidney damage. Unless your blood sugar's are still high. Damage only occurs to the kidney's when the blood sugar's are high. Do you have his book? His website might hvae info about this. I wasn't worried about protein intake, then my therapist expressed concern and so I went into Dr. Bernstein's book and read what he says about it. Just like dietary fat doesn't cause high cholesterol or body fat, dietary protein doesn't cause kidney damage. Not alone. There have to be other factors - i.e. high blood sugar.

It would be a really good idea for you to get Dr. B's book "the Diabetes Solution" if you haven't already. I trust his info - the man has had Diabetes since 1946!

A lot of this is common sense, but you have to have the disease and experiment with yourself to really understand the relationship between carbs/food, exercise, and BG for your body. I for one have learned that I can't eat low-fat products. They contain more sugar per serving than their full fat counterparts and the fat isn't there to temper the effects of the carbs. This could be one main reason why I have T2 diabetes, possible renal failure, high blood pressure, yet my cholesterol is actually improving. I have eaten high fat for years, and if I can give up the sugar forever I know the other health problems will improve as well.

I don't weigh over 300 and have these health problems because of fat or calorie intake, I have it because I binge on sugar and chips for months/years at a time.

Sorry this is so long and rambling. I hope that it helps some.

Melissa