My girlfriend is currently in graduate school to become a registered dietician. She’s concerned that my protein intake could lead to kidney problems in the future. She just told me that a “bodybuilder” came in for treatment for kidney failure that was a result of excessive amounts of protein consumption (appx. 200g per day) over the course of his life.
I am almost 23 years old and 165 pounds. I currently take in between 200-250g of protein per day…so I subscribe to the 1 to 1.5g of protein per lb. of bodyweight per day “rule.”
She’s my girlfriend and I trust her, but I’m still skeptical because I haven’t heard anything about this anywhere else. The general consensus on T-Nation seems to be, ‘the more protein, the better.’
So I ask you, T-Nation, is there any correlation between protein intake and kidney failure?
p.s.
Please do not bash my girlfriend. I know most of you have issues with dieticians and nutritionists. She did not say protein intake causes kidney failure, but she’s heard some things and she’s seen some things during her time in graduate school and she is just trying to look out for me. Thanks guys.
Yeah I had a “dietitian” who was lifting in the gym tell me that taking simple carbs post workout was a terrible plan, I proceeded to tell him he was 160 pounds and the same height as me and in no position to give me advice.
Just because you have a degree doesn’t necessarily mean you know what your doing, if you don’t have the muscle to back it up your “expertise” means nothing.
It is true that high protien intake causes more toxins from protien metabolism to enter the kidneys.
This is the reason your supposed to drink a gallon+ of water a day, to flush it out.
If you ate 500 grams a day and drank very little water, I could see you having problems in 20-30 years.
Drink your water, and keep your protein where it should be.
Thank you for your input. Like I said…she wasn’t trying to tell me that she was right. She was simply letting me know what she’s heard because she knows that I eat lots of protein. She’s just looking out for me.
Now, I definitely get lots of fluids, mostly in the form of water. I also drink lots of green tea and Powerade Zero.
[quote]Mick28 wrote:
jtrenda33 wrote:
My girlfriend is currently in graduate school to become a registered dietician. She’s concerned that my protein intake could lead to kidney problems in the future. She just told me that a “bodybuilder” came in for treatment for kidney failure that was a result of excessive amounts of protein consumption (appx. 200g per day) over the course of his life.
Hey, we all have to die of something why are you complaining? At least when you die you’ll have a muscular body. Now what’s more important I ask you?
By the way…why would anyone in the field of health/medicine think that incredibly excessive amounts of protein (or excessive amounts of anything for that matter) would cause disease?
Tell her to prove it. Where are the studies?
This is T Nation excessive amounts of protein are good for you…dam women…ruin everything don’t they?
Ha ha…funny stuff…funny stuff.
[/quote]
Again, I say to you, she did not say it causes kidney failure or any other disease. She told me her concerns based on what she has seen and heard during her time in graduate school. I told her to investigate it a little more and present me with some hard evidence and other variables that could have caused this guy to have kidney failure. She said she would look into it some more.
Again, she never said that it causes it. How many times do I have to say this? This is not a question about whether protein intake is directly related to muscle mass. The question, my friends, is this: Is there any correlation between protein intake and kidney failure?
From now on, no more responses about how dieticians are stupid and malnourished because that does not answer the question at hand. It merely showcases your inability to think and speak objectively.
[quote]jtrenda33 wrote:
Thank you for your input. Like I said…she wasn’t trying to tell me that she was right. She was simply letting me know what she’s heard because she knows that I eat lots of protein. She’s just looking out for me.
Now, I definitely get lots of fluids, mostly in the form of water. I also drink lots of green tea and Powerade Zero.[/quote]
I heard the earth was flat…should I believe that? Sorry for the sarcasm, but my point is that unless she has read something that has conlusive proof that excessive protein can hurt the kidneys, why would she worry about you over ‘hearsay’?
If this were true I’d imagine we’d see an epidemic of bodybuilders all over the boards saying
“Bros just a warning I am in renal kidney failure from eating 200-400 grams of protein a day”… but we don’t. The only studies I’ve seen that shown protein consumption(in sane levels, a 165 lb guy eating 500 grams might have issues) to be an issue with kidney failure was on people that ALREADY HAD renal kidney failure.
Eat up, stay hydrated, get checked up regularly and don’t sweat it.
dieticians, nutrionists, cardiologists, etc. are still living in the nutritional teaching of the 1970’s and should all be ignored regardless of what comes out of their mouth
would your girlfriend prefer we consume 300+ grams of TEH WHOLE GRAINZ ?
What kind of body builder? Are we talking serious? If so, the guy was probably putting a lot of shit into his body over the years much worse than a high protein diet. Some how, I do not picture Ronnie Coleman being the epitome of health in 15 years…
dieticians, nutrionists, cardiologists, etc. are still living in the nutritional teaching of the 1970’s and should all be ignored regardless of what comes out of their mouth
would your girlfriend prefer we consume 300+ grams of TEH WHOLE GRAINZ ?
as a side note, she is using the same out of date text book that my lifting buddies gf used to get her degree.
It references a paper in which they ran that study on people that already had kidney problems. Barrow the book, look up the reference (I dont have it bookmarked anymore), print it out, read it, and then let her read it.
That is what I had to do to get my buddies gf to quit bitching at me about my protein intake. That said, his gf is a vegan, and her brain is probably shrinking as we speak (j/k, she takes b12 sups).
dieticians read a book then spout the shit they read left and right as if it was absolute truth instead of trying to find practical results with their own bodies or with clients, and you’re telling US to think objectively ?
Whats crazy to me is this whole proteins bad for your kidneys and carbs are okay is completely backwards, without insulin your body is forced to excrete sugars through the kidneys which destroys them. Amino acids and lipids on the other hand don’t require this specialized hormone.
Additionally if your body wants to excrete lipids or proteins, it just does. The concern of excreting large amounts of nitrogen is… valid only if you where buffoonish in your water consumption. If you where the kind of guy who was trying to get huge and only drinking when he was completely parched and then somehow cramming tons of protein into your body you might hurt yourself. I bet you would feel that in your bladder first though.