Kidney diet and protein.

[orangecity41]

Interesting article explaining the need for limiting protein and CKD.

renaldiethq.com/why-is-a-re...

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

I would be interested in hearing what others say who have lowered their protein intake. For example, I went down to 30 mg and found that way too low. I also never had meat, chicken or fish or other animal protein other than cheese. I m now at around 50 mg or less daily. I feel better.

This article also says that eggs are not good, but everything else I have read says they are great for CKD, especially egg whites. I consume eggs (mostly whites) every week. I do limit chicken and turkey but do include it also.

Now sadly, my GFR has dropped some more. I am not sure if this is the cause. I doubt it.

Wondering what other's think and what they do.

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador in reply to Bassetmommer]

I am allowed 60 -65mg daily in my prescribed diet and mostly keep in that range.

[WheresNaldo in reply to Bassetmommer]

I had a similar experience. I went down to 30mg of protein a day and felt like I was withering away. I’m around 50-60 a day now and feel amazing. I’m always focusing on staying hydrated. I’m getting blood work done soon. Fingers crossed for good numbers!

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador in reply to WheresNaldo]

Great! I too have been keeping at 50-60 a day and bloodwork is ok . We can do the best we can. Hope your numbers are great too. Keep us posted.

[chicablue in reply to Bassetmommer]

I disagree with the article. Soy is not healthy for anyone, it has a female hormone which causes cancer. I eat salmon twice a week, a steak once a week (small quantity which is weighed) and since I personally found I can see better if I eat eggs, I have 1 egg every other day. I hate chicken breast and will not eat it! Vegetables dont taste good without salt except for 2 of them. So I am not a veggan! I do eat cauliflower and carrots and an occasional baked potato. Tried boiling them, but our tap water isn;t good enough, and they tasted horrible!

When you get as old as I am, I am going to eat what makes me feel good, I'm not going to eat food I do not like just to live longer!

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to chicablue]

I am so glad you mentioned about the soy. Many years ago, my gyno told me not to eat soy. I could not remember why but I never did start eating tofu or other soy products. Thanks for reminding me why.

[horsie63 in reply to Bassetmommer]

Because of my Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism) I was told to avoid soy but since I've been scanning ingredient lists I'm seeing soy isolate in a lot of products. It's like they are using it to "bump" up plant based protein amounts.

[Dana66CKD in reply to chicablue]

Is the hormone in soy naturally occuring or added when processed? I thought soy was safe, plant protein😯

[chicablue in reply to Dana66CKD]

natjural, and all the food manufacturers know this and dont care because it is cheap!

[Svnaia in reply to Bassetmommer]

I too went a little too low when I was first diagnosed last April and started my new way of eating. My renal RD put me on essentially a Mediterranean plan, but I was not eating enough protein or sodium and felt weak and lightheaded and started having dizzy spells. I went back to my RD after 4 weeks with a faithful food log and she said I wasn't eating enough calories and probably had an electrolyte imbalance and for sure not enough protein. She set minimums for me (45 grams of protein, max 60; 1300mg sodium, max 2000) and advised me to eat protein snacks (Greek yogurt, egg, peanut butter ball) timed to support my exercise schedule to deal with the lightheadedness and to try to avoid muscle wasting. I lost 12 pounds the first few months, including 3 pounds in muscle mass, but have since leveled out - but have not checked muscle mass again. I feel great now, and at my 1st 6 month labs, my egfr went from 53 to 61. I eat mostly veggies with a little chicken or fish, eggs, a little tofu and dairy...close to the way I ate before, just FAR less meat, sodium, preservatives, more whole and home-made and lots more water! I don't have any other health issues and am not on any meds. I have my next 6 month labs at the end of this month. Hoping its an upward trend after 4 labs downward before being diagnosed with CKD.

[Dana66CKD in reply to Bassetmommer]

Bassetmommer, when you increased your protein from 30 to 50, are you talking grams or mg's? I am trying to consume 44g/day at stage 2 (DaVita or NKF) recommends .8g protein/kg of weight. I weigh 54.45kg. I am stage 2. I know the g/day are lower for 3B/3A (.55-.60/kg of wt.), but don't know amount for more advanced stages except that protein increases for dialysis patients. I apologize if my comments are too prying. I've read your and other's posts and they've encouraged me to keep trying. I've had good days and a few not so good. My family has witnessed my everchanging anxiety level when my symptoms are overt 😥

Thank you and the other's on this site for sharing all your knowledge and experience. It's helped me immensely. 🙂

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to Dana66CKD]

HI Dana,

We are all in this together. I meant grams with my protein. Because I am a person of size, the weight thing does not work for me. I would be eating way too much protein. My dietician started me on the lower amount, and I adhered to it for almost a year. But she is a big plant-based person and also pushed that. We have to figure out what works for us an individuals with the guidance of our health team.

We all have anxiety to some extent. Mine right now is super high because of stuff going on with my labs and getting the doctors to pay attention. Next week will be very telling to see what happens as I see my Nephrologist and my rheumatologist.

Thanks for the compliment and hang in there.

[Dana66CKD in reply to Bassetmommer]

I hope the visits with your specialists shed some light on your particular needs and that the nephro is a good listener. Thanks again!

[RonZone]

I talked with my Neph today at my monthly meetup. I asked him specifically about protein consumtion. He said that their is evidence that folks who do very low protein having issues with their immune system, muscle loss, etc, so they don't normally recommend a very low protein diet for those reasons that it increases morbidity rate. So based on what he's saying, the docs don't want to advise people to go low protein because of the liability of that advise having negative effects. So it seems there's a trade off. If you go extremely low protein to help reduce the workload carried by your kidneys, you risk the chance of effecting your health negatively in other areas. So there's no definitive "right" answer one way or the other cause it's going to depend on what other comorbid issues you might have that could be affected. What works for one person might not be a good idea at all for the next person. Thus the need for each of us to get to know our bodies and our labs so we can make the best choices for ourselves, not just go with a popular bandwagon, or "fad", but fine tune our diet to our own specific needs. It's like when my dad worked on the cars of his friends when he was a youth. He would tell them, "I can adjust your carburetor's mixture of gas and air to either give you great pickup and speed, or better gas mileage. You can't have both. You get to choose."

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador in reply to RonZone]

Agree not all of us are the same as we do have different medical issues I am finding in my case. I do drink soy milk in moderation. I make sure I get 60g (sometimes more) of protein each day as due to age there is muscle wasting.

[Dana66CKD in reply to orangecity41]

Orangecity41, do your ckd symptoms flare-up when you consume too much of any of the foods, e.g. protein, potassium, phosphorous, etc?Nausea, upper GI pain under ribcage, heart rate & bp go way up. Tingling in arms/legs, irreg. heartbeat too. Just trying to figure out why despite my being diet conscious.

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador in reply to Dana66CKD]

I have different medical conditions to deal with so hard to tell of reason. I do sometimes feel some pain in my lower rib cage area if eat too much protein. I too watch my intake of potassium.

[Dana66CKD in reply to orangecity41]

Thanks for your reply. I have Sjogren's without many symptoms except dry mouth, dry eye. My labs have been good except for wbc, H&H; iron TIBC/ferritin: low & high. Upper GI pain can be associated with liver issue too, but I don't get pain if I keep my protein at or just below 12g.

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador in reply to Dana66CKD]

Have you checked with a dietitian to make sure you are getting enough protein and other nutrients?

[Dana66CKD in reply to orangecity41]

Yes. Have another appt. with RD, but seeking Renal Dietitian in my area and not many in state of Oregon. My current one is retiring. I live in rural area. Portland, Oregon is metro, but I'm 3 hours away.🙁

[orangecity41 NKF Ambassador in reply to Dana66CKD]

Do any of the Renal Dietitians in Portland, and/or your health plan, offer virtual visits?

[Dana66CKD in reply to orangecity41]

Yes. I had virtual visit with Renal Dietitian in Portland area, but she's retiring, so searching for another in Portland metro area. These Renal Dietitians are few & far between here in Oregon. I looked up list of state/private registered CSD/CRD.

[WildIris]

I also take a protein that has magnesium rather than nitrogen as its backbone, albutrix, which is from a company started by Lee Hull, a kidney patient and author. He recommends 30 G (6 pills) a day on a vegan diet. I only take 2 pills, 10 G, a day, and try to eat plenty of vegan-type protein. tofu, beans, nuts also fruits and vegetables and hummus. I feel well. I sure enjoy the foods I eat.

[Blackknight1989]

I’m glad it’s working for you however I’m not a huge Hull fan for several reasons. I’m not a huge fan myself.