Did you gain 3 or 4 pounds over the holiday season and decided to get rid of it quickly by following a high protein diet? Before embarking on this type of diet, know that a recent study shows that it increases the risk of kidney disease, as well as the risk of kidney stones.
According to researchers at the University of Granada, Spain, who conducted a study on high-protein diets, they increase the level of calcium in the urine and reduce the level of potassium citrate (also found in the urine), which normally prevents the formation of kidney stones (small stones of varying sizes that form in the kidneys and can cause renal colic).
To reach this conclusion, the Spanish researchers put a dozen rats on a high-protein diet (their diet contained at least 45% protein) for three months. A control group consisted of rats continuing to eat normally. During the experiment, the “diet” rats lost 10% of their weight. But their potassium citrate level dropped by 88% and the pH of their urine was 15% more acidic than normal, “which significantly increases the risk of kidney stones,” said Dr Virginia Aparicio, who led the study. .
In conclusion, the researchers suggest that no high-protein diet should be followed without medical supervision. And they believe adding fruits and vegetables to a high protein diet would be an easy way to rebalance urine pH and not strain the kidneys.
