In response to Steve McBride's question regarding high protein diets and
renal disease:
          In the UK, the Department of Health (1) concluded that "whilst in
no case is there conclusive evidence of harmful effects of excessive intakes
of dietary protein in healthy people, there is firm evidence that excessive
dietary protein contributes to deterioration of renal function in patients
with renal disease by increasing intraglomerular pressure and glomerular
filtration rate" (2-4).  A number of recent studies (5-7) support the
concept that elevated protein intake in normal subjects does not impair
kidney function.
        High protein diets have recently been shown to be associated with
reductions in blood pressure (8-10) and in breast cancer (11) and ischemic
heart disease risk (12).  Further, a recent trial involving high protein
diets showed that they were more effective than high carbohydrate diets in
weight loss diets while producing a more favorable blood lipid profile (13).

                                Loren

                                REFERENCES

1.      Department of Health (1991) Dietary Reference Values for Food Energy
and Nutrients for the United Kingdom. Report on Health and Social Subjects
no. 41. London: H.M. Stationery Office.
2.      Brenner BM. , Meyer TW. & Hostetter TH. (1982)Dietary protein intake
and the progressive nature of kidney disease: the role of hemodynamically
mediated glomerular injury in the pathogenesis of progressive glomerular
sclerosis in aging, renal ablation, and intrinsic renal disease. New England
Journal of Medicine 307, 652-659.
3.      Rudman D. (1988)Kidney senescence ; a model for aging. Nutrition
Reviews 46, 209-214.
4.      Wiseman MJ. , Hunt R. , Goodwin A. , Gross JL. , Keen H. & Viberti
GC. (1987)Dietary composition and renal function in healthy subjects.
Nephron 46, 37-42.
5.      Brandle E. , Sieberth HG. & Hautmann RE. (1996)Effect of chronic
dietary protein intake on the renal function in healthy subjects. European
Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, 734-740.
6.      Kimmel PL. , Lew SQ. & Bosch JP. (1996)Nutrition, ageing and GFR: is
age-associated decline inevitable? Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation
11, Suppl. 9, 85-88.
7.      Walser M. (1992)The relationship of dietary protein to kidney
disease. In Dietary Proteins in Health and Disease, pp. 168-178[GU Liepa,
editor]. Washington, DC: American Oil Chemists Society.
8.      Stamler J. , Elliott P. , Kesteloot H. , Nichols R. , Claeys G. ,
Dyer AR. & Stamler R. (1996b)Inverse relation of dietary protein markers
with blood pressure. Findings for 10,020 men and women in the INTERSALT
Study. INTERSALT Cooperative Research Group. INTERnational study of SALT and
blood pressure. Circulation 94, 1629-1634.
9.      Obarzanek E. , Velletri PA. & Cutler JA. (1996)Dietary protein and
blood pressure. Journal of the American Medical Association 275, 1598-1603.
10.     He J et al.  Effect of dietary fiber and protein on blood pressure:
a review of epidemiologic evidence. Clin Exp Hypertens 1999;21:785-96.
11.     Holmes MD et al.  Dietary factors and the survival of women with
breast carcinoma. Cancer 1999;86:826-35.
12.     Hu FB et al.  Dietary protein and risk of ischemic heart disease in
women. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;70:221-7.
13.     Skov AR.  Randomized trial on protein vs carbohydrate in adlibitum
fat reduced diet for the treatment of obesity. Int J Obesity 1999;23:528-36.











Loren Cordain, Ph.D., Professor
Department of Health and Exercise Science
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523
tel: (970) 491-7436
fax:(970) 491-0445
email:[log in to unmask]
http://www.colostate.edu/Colleges/CAHS/ess/cordain.htm