Protein intake for PKD patients?
Paul Cooper
on how much protein per day I should be consuming. While Dr. Walser seems to
suggest that 40 grams/day is all that anybody should require, and that CKD
patients should consume far less (while taking amino acid supplements), my
current nephrologist has a different opinion.
My current nephrologist says that while a low protein diet (which he
supposes to be 40 grams/day) may stave off dialysis for as much as "a few
years," when you finally do go on dialysis, he says, you pay for these years
because people who have been on a low protein diet do far less well on
dialysis than those who have not been on such a diet. And whereas some
writers on the subject suggest CKD sufferers should daily ingest .6 to .8
gram of protein per kilo of body weight, my current nephrologist says that I
should eat 1.2 grams per kilo, and that should be 'high quality protein,"
such as egg whites or chicken breasts.
Does anybody have any information on this? Is there any "conventional
wisdom" on how much protein a CKD patient should eat? Are there studies
suggesting that those on low-protein diets do less well when they finally do
go on dialysis?
I'm confused, and would be grateful for any information on the subject.
Paul
Scott W
You might want to look at this
http://www.renalandurologynews.com/Very-Low-Protein-Diets-of-No-Benefit/article/127341/
Scott
Jason
Cooper" <prc...@earthlink.net> wrote:
Paul,
I advise you to follow Dr. Walser's advice related to the low protein
diet. Your nephrologist was probably talking about patients that had a low
protein diet that did NOT take the Amino Acids that are mentioned in Dr.
Walser's book. In other words, if you follow the low protein diet and take
the Amino Acids mentioned in Dr. Walser's book--you will make it thru many
years in excellent health. Reread the case studies mentioned in Dr.
Walser's book if you don't believe me. Also, keep in mind that
nephrologists make more money from patients that are on dialysis than they
make from people that are NOT on dialysis. That is the reason so many
nephrologists don't encourage people to go on a low protein diet (with
Amino Acids).
Jason
mainframetech
Scott W,
Sorry I didn't reply sooner. I missed your comment about the study
that said low protein diets are failures and can even hasten one's
passage to death.
The particular study you're referring to in the article you linked
was a 'copy' study. They went through data of another study and then
try to generate new information and get credit for publishing on their
own without using a huge amount of money to fund such a study. The
study you pointed to was based on the 'MDRD' study. Since that one
was published many researchers have pointed out flaws all through the
original study. It was a large and costly study and studies of that
magnitude can usually be afforded by drug companies. They have an
ulterior motive which is to sell equipment and drugs to those with
CKD, who sometimes last a good while taking those drugs and using the
equipment.
Again, as has been said here before, try reading "Coping With
Kidney Disease" by Mackenzie Walser. He did research at Johns Hopkins
for 45 years. He gives the results of his studies and he was not
working for a drug company. He unequivocally says that the very low
protein diet can and does either avoid or delay dialysis.
My own experience is that my CKD was heading for dialysis that I
calculate would come in 4-6 months. I got the book and immediately
started in on the diet. I had found that 1 in 4 people die in the
first year of dialysis, and that scared me into doing the diet very
closely. That was over 3 years ago and I've still got time before
dialysis. There is no doubt to me that the diet does what Walser
says. There are others here who have tried it too, and they say the
same.
Good luck,
Chris