RE: To much protein bad for kidneys?
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Monday, February 20, 2006 8:13 AM
Hi. It's wise never to go overboard on ANYTHING. However, that book sounds like s LOT of supposition and very little scientific fact. It is true that the more protein you consume the more your kidneys have to work, however the more of ANY nutrient you consume the more your kidneys have to work. It is not wise to go on a meganprotein diet without a balance of good fats and fruits and vegetables. That would NOT be good. You need balance in all food groups.
I'm surprised you needed that book to say too much protein can get you fat! :) I don't mean that in a demeaning way, but too much fat will make you fat, too much carbs will make you fat, and yes even too much PROTEIN if you don't exercise enough or intake hundreds and hundreds of grams per day.
Charles Poloquin, one of the premier experts on exercise physiology and kinesiology, and a coach of olympic athletes, said that he's TESTED and seen in real world cases that athletes have actually been in negative nitrogen balance at 300 grams of protein per day or 1.5 grams per pound of bodybweight which kind of shoots your dad's author right in the foot. She has no valid point if there are people in negative nitrogen balance at that much protein. This shows you it's a very relative thing between two individuals. The critical factor is how hard and consistent your training is, that you need more or less protein. Because if your body has a high demand for it, there will be hardly ANY excess nitrogen. In fact, most bodybuilders beg to be in the positive nitrogen balance because it's so hard.
There has not been one study done ever that "proved" that protein causes kidney problems. How about that? This doesn't mean however that they are not "indirectly" linked. For instance, an excessive consumption of meat and dairy products is bad for general health not becaues of something in the meat itself, but because of what man has done to the cows and dairy products. It's all commercial business out there to get out food, so they want to buff up the growth hormone to make little cows huge and produce more meat, they add antibiotics, and instead of eating and cooking meat fresh upon slaughter it has to be transported to us and risk being contaminated.
Next, excessive meat slows down the digestion. Everyone would go to the bathroom 2-3 times a day if they completely avoided all meat and had only milk or yogurt as the sole source of animal protein. That is a clear correlation between meat consumption and slowing of digestive tract. And this can allow toxins and negative things to build up and get in our blood stream in which both the liver and kidneys will have to work harder. But it wasn't the protein that did it. Nature intended us to mix grains with beans, nuts or seeds, to make our complete proteins. Does that book recommend we don't eat beans or whole grains because that's protein too. I mean don't be ridiculous. It's not protein that causes kidney problems because excess unneeded protein is harmlessly excreted through the urine. But the whole point of more protein consumption is that bodybuilders in intense training NEED the protein, so it can be used for bodily repair. So not a whole lot will be excreted if you need it all. Kidneys only cleanse the blood of reoccuring, recirculating toxins like urea and other waste products in the blood. If dietary protein comes in, if insulin and other pathways pull it right into the muscles, then how can it even affect the kidneys?
There are a few helpful keys that can help you on your protein quest and minimize overload. To get your protein, eat many meals per day with 20-40 grams of protein at each, rather than 75-100 at one meal. Just this step alone would minimize any stress of the kidneys beacuse it only has to deal with a moderate amount (a typical meal of meat). Believe it or not we HAVE adapted the ability to eat some meat every now and then without our kidneys bursting. :)
The next step is to eat primilary eggs, fish, and yogurt (whey can be included if its only 24 gram serving) for the bulk of all your protein. These are easily and qiuckly digested as opposed to red meat and poultry. I'm not saying the body can't digest the latter successfully, but it takes longer, and there is more waste from meat and poultry becaue there's less absorption of that type of protein in the intestine. There's hardly ANY waste left over from eggs fish or milk (organic). Poultry and meat should be the secondary sources of protein, not primary.
Another trick you can use is mix beans with whole grains, or mix nuts or seeds with whole grains, or mix milk and dairy with whole grains. That is unequivocally better for digestion and can often make a 20+ gram complete protein meal which is very useful under certain circumstances, like around contest time if you want to keep fat very low.
The bottom line is, Dr. Poliquin just shot your dad's author's whole argument in the butt. This just proves that when you work with real world experiments rather than theoretical books that often your suppositions are just wrong. There's never been any study that has conclusively proved that protein causes kidney problems. If you look at studies see if they say "concludes that" "determined that", or if it says "may lead to" or "may be toxic". If you see each language in a study you know the first one had a result the second didn't. All the kidney protein correlations are the latter. I think many people on the surface of it say what? You have to consume hundreds of grams of protein? That'll be bad for your system. A typical uneducated remark. First of all, your demand for it is very high IF you train consistently (on rest days consume a little less protein), second you divide it up into many meals per day so there isn't any one overload on the system, thirdly, you have high quality protein sources mainly which means your body absorbs most of it directly for muscle repair leaving little pollution for your body.
Sometimes, it is just best to ask that people respect that you do what you do, and they can do what they do. Because there's no way you can explain all these things to them in a casual conversation unless they ask about your knowledge on the subject.