Dietary advice for kidney patients is often conflicting, especially when it comes to protein. There is no one-size-fits-all advice for these patients. Dietary advice requires looking at the patient's individual labs, blood pressure, age and overall health status. By actively partnering with your kidney doctor, or nephrologist, you can learn whether your kidneys are being hurt by excess protein.
Normal Protein Intake
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that healthy people have a daily protein consumption of 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight. This amounts to approximately 54 g of protein for a 150-lb. adult. Anything beyond this requirement can be considered excess protein. In practice, most people consume far more protein than their bodies actually need.
Protein Restriction
High urine protein is an early indicator of kidney disease. Proteins in the blood of such patients end up in the urine because the kidneys fail to filter them out. Passing protein through the kidney filters tends to damage them if it happens for an extended period of time. Because one of the main treatment goals is preserving kidney function, nephrologists often suggest that the patient eat less protein.
Warnings
Limiting excess protein is not appropriate for everyone. For example, this practice is never recommended for children, who need protein for growth. Moreover, it is inappropriate after surgery, when patients need the extra protein to heal. If patients have urine protein under control, protein restriction may be altogether unnecessary. You should never restrict protein intake without consulting your nephrologist.
Special Circumstances
Unlike patients in earlier stages of kidney disease, patients on hemodialysis are advised to eat extra protein. Protein restriction is no longer necessary because preserving kidney health is no longer the goal of treatment as the kidneys of these patients have already failed. Additional protein intake is necessary because hemodialysis removes essential amino acids from the blood. Patients can compensate for this loss by eating more low-cholesterol, high-protein foods such as chicken and fish.
