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Hi everyone
I saw my doctor today who informed me that my kidneys are leaking protein into my urine and has told me to cut down on protein. So I am now having to watch carbs and now reduce protein-so my question is does anyone else have this problem and what do you eat?
Thank you
Hi everyone
I saw my doctor today who informed me that my kidneys are leaking protein into my urine and has told me to cut down on protein. So I am now having to watch carbs and now reduce protein-so my question is does anyone else have this problem and what do you eat?
Thank you
I had to cut back on protein too but I'm still eating what I was eating beforehand, but now I track protein as well as carbs to make sure that I stay within the recommended amount. This is usually expressed in grams per kilo of body weight. According to the British Heart Foundation most adults need around 0.75g of protein per kilo of body weight per day (for the average woman this is 45g, or 55g for the average man). Not sure what they consider to be the 'average' woman or man. However, I've also read that for someone like me who's reasonably active it should be more -1.2g - and as I'm 72kg that gives me a target of 86g per day max. I find I can easily manage that as long as I don't eat 2 high protein meals, eg chicken, per day.
The kidneys can start to get damaged in diabetes due to high blood glucose and high blood pressure. The tiny blood vessels become damaged and the kidneys aren't able to filter as well as they should and microscopic protein particles start to leak out and be excreted in the urine.
Were you diagnosed by a urine test ot an egfr blood test?
There are ACE inhibtor drugs that can be prescribed - these are blood pressure drugs but they also protect the kidneys by reducing the pressure in the blood vessels all over the body. Drugs such as lisinopril, Irbesartan and a number of other drugs ending pril can be used to reduce blood pressure.
I've lived with micro protein in my urine - microalbuminuria- for about 30 years and it hasn't progressed any further. It doesn't mean anything awful will happen but it is an early warning sign.
The best thing is to manage your blood glucose as best you can however you manage it - drugs, diet, exercise etc and reduce blood pressure as best you can eg by ACE inhibitor drugs to protect kidney function.
This explains how diabetes can affect the kidneys from Diabetes UK
Diabetic nephropathy is the name given to kidney damage caused by diabetes. It develops slowly, over many years, and is also referred to as kidney disease or chronic kidney disease. Diabetic kidney disease is another name given to diabetic nephropathy. With the right support you can reduce...
I'll echo what @Flower says about high BG and high BP being risk factors for kidney health, and would add high salt intake, the RDA for which is 6g per day, into the mix too.
This is important, it's best to know if you have any kidney issues. If you have not had one it would be best to speak to your doctor about a blood test to check kidney function. They may call it a U&E Blood test (Urea and Electrolytes). This will provide you with a figure for your eFGR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) which provides an indication of how well your kidneys are functioning.
