Myth-busting Mondays #3

'High protein diets put stress on the kidneys'

Unfortunately not many studies have been done on the effects of the Kidneys and Kidney function during high protein diets. The word 'high' is vague; I wouldn't consider 200g p/day to be high for a large athlete yet the government would probably argue that was excessive. Luckily I have finally found a study that examines the dose at 2.8 g/kg. This would work out at 225g a day for me which is way above what i currently consume so I was glad to see such high amounts and I will discuss the results in a moment.
    Here, it shows that 1.5g/kg is a safe value to consume without any adverse effects, although it was not tested on athletes. This is the study which uses athletes and bodybuilders on 2.8g/kg p/day. It showed that creatinine, urea, and albumin that were within the normal range and that ultimately this amount of protein does not impair renal function in well-trained athletes or bodybuilders. The last study also shows that a diet consisting of 33% protein while resistance training had no adverse effects on the Kidneys. 33% of a 2500 calorie diet would work out at 206g a day.

Conclusion

High protein diets do not negatively effect the Kidneys or Kidney function. Although the diet was at 2.8g/kg I personally recommend LESS at 1g of protein p/lb. Please see my top 5 supplements and scroll down to 'Whey protein' to find out why.

See you next week x