Protein And The Kidneys: How Much Is Too Much?
The amount of protein you should eat per day is 0.8 to 1.2 grams times your body weight.
Hey, what’s with that look on your face?!
You drink and don’t give a fuck about your liver, right?
You smoke and don’t give a fuck about your lungs, right?
You’re sedentary and don’t give a fuck about your heart, right?
But once someone tells you to eat more protein, you suddenly become health-conscious and give a fuck about your kidneys?!
THE FUCK?!?!
Well, contrary to the latest research from the 1960s that you rely on for all your nutritional decisions, nothing will happen to you if you eat more protein than the daily recommended amount, especially if you’re an active individual who needs protein to support their weight loss and muscle-building goals.
NOTE: There’s no link of a high-protein diet leading to kidney damage in healthy people with normal kidney function. The issue is when you already have pre-existing kidney conditions and/or other issues. Examples include chronic kidney disease, kidney stones, only one working kidney, or a rare genetic condition like phenylketonuria. There’s also evidence to suggest that high-protein diets may adversely affect the kidneys of the obese, diabetics, and those with a history of heart problems.
Protein is an important nutrient. It’s vital for numerous body processes, one of which is helping to build and repair muscle tissue. As important as protein is, there’s a common fear that eating too much of it is dangerous. And what’s “too much”? That’s held by some as anything more than 0.6 grams times your body weight. Others allow a slightly higher protein intake but warn that danger comes in the immediate or not so distant future when you exceed it. Whatever the limitation is, the fears surrounding high-protein diets are unfounded.
For those who are active and in fine metabolic health, what’s considered as “too much” protein isn’t excessive but warranted to help the body recover from the demands placed on it by exercise and everyday life. But what about those with active lifestyles who overdo their protein consumption? Sure, there are many like that who are of the mindset that they have to binge on nothing but protein to build muscle, but what about ’em? Unless they’re really pushing the extremes of their intake, the danger isn’t so much health but their eventually being admitted to the poorhouse because their gross overconsumption is a waste of money, as more protein doesn’t confer more muscle growth.
Those who live less active lifestyles shouldn’t be eating as much, and it’s not for them that the advice is generally given for. But even if the less active were to eat 0.8 to 1.2 grams times their body weight, they wouldn’t keel over and die from it, as is often the given impression. Nor would they be setting themselves up in the long run for a kidney transplant.
And know who else the advice for high protein intake isn’t generally given for?
Yeah, people with a fucked up health history that primarily involves, but isn’t limited to, the kidneys!
Glossary: active lifestyle, diet, exercise, goal, muscle
