Physicians use tests to look for protein in your urine mainly to screen for kidney disease. Protein in your urine can signal that your blood levels of protein are high, which may mean you have kidney disease. If your physician finds a small amount of protein in your urine, she'll need to do additional tests before determining if you really have kidney disease, since not everyone who spills protein into their urine actually has the condition. If ultimately the tests determine you do suffer from kidney disease, you may need to take steps to reduce your protein intake.
Basics
Your kidneys work hard in your body to filter waste products, along with excess water, from your blood stream and dump those products into your urine for elimination. In chronic kidney disease, your kidneys stop working as efficiently, and this can allow some protein to slip into your urine along with the water and waste products. However, protein in your urine doesn't always indicate kidney disease. You can find a small amount of protein in your urine without having kidney disease if your blood levels of protein get high.
Symptoms and Testing
In its earliest stages, kidney disease causes only vague symptoms, mainly fatigue. You might also notice some unintended weight loss and suffer from itchy skin and headaches, but most people don't have these symptoms until later stages of the condition. To diagnose kidney disease following an abnormal urinalysis, your doctor likely will perform several blood tests. She also will test your blood pressure, since high blood pressure routinely goes hand-in-hand with chronic kidney disease.
Diet
If further testing does show you have kidney disease, you likely will need to limit your protein intake. Your physician will explain exactly how much protein you can have each day. Don't think that you can eat all that protein at once, perhaps in the form of a large steak dinner; to avoid stressing your kidneys, you'll need to space out your protein throughout the day. Also, you'll need to track more than just your consumption of meat, poultry and fish; dairy products also contain some protein, although less than meat. Legumes, nuts and grains also contain protein.
Considerations
Do not make any dietary changes until your doctor has reviewed your test results and explained the necessary steps for dealing with a small amount of protein in your urine. It's quite possible you won't need to change anything at all. However, if your doctor ultimately places you on a low-protein diet for kidney disease, she'll also most likely tell you to watch your salt intake and keep your fluid intake to a minimum. Since your kidneys process all the fluid that leaves your body in your urine, drinking too much can make them work too hard. Salt causes you to retain water and contributes to high blood pressure, both of which also can hinder your damaged kidneys' function.
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