Are High Protein Diets Bad For Your Kidneys?

By Russ Hollywood


If you have ever asked a personal trainer or experienced gym user how to lose weight it's highly likely that you have already heard about following a high protein diet. Today you'll learn how to use this approach correctly and also put a line through some of the common misconceptions associated with it.

High protein diets have given themselves a bad reputation over the last decade or so due to the number of fads and celebrity endorsed quick fix plans. However, many of the problems which flawed those approaches can be dealt with by one quick look at the latest scientific findings on the subject.

One of the major flaws in the fad diets of the past, including the Atkins and other celebrity influenced programs, is the belief that a high protein intake would severely damage your kidneys. It was believed that the kidneys couldn't cope with large amounts of daily protein, regardless of whether it arrived in the form of regular food or whey protein supplements. Studies recently showed that this is not the case.

Recent studies confirm that the high protein intake recommended by such diets was actually perfectly safe and no negative effects were found in the kidneys of people using this approach. However, their diet plans were flawed when it came to the two other macronutrients, carbohydrates and fats. By cutting all carbs from the daily diet, you'd often see people experience quick weight loss followed by a rapid unhealthy regaining of all the weight they had dropped. This trend started a lot of yo-yo dieters on the road to ruin.

While low carb diets are perfectly acceptable, no carb diets are unsafe.. Do not make the mistake of presuming that carbohydrates and fats are the enemy to your goals. Your body needs all three of the major nutrients and it is physically impossible to enjoy long-term success if you cut any of them out completely.

If you want to try using a high protein diet you should combine it with a few other important fat loss rules. These include regular exercise, a good variety of foods and plenty of sleep. You can use supplements such as whey protein to increase your daily intake of this nutrient if you wish, as it means you won't be constantly preparing food. []

To work out a good low carb, high protein diet try the following split:

* 1.2g protein per lb of body weight (that's the weight you actually want to be, by the way).

* Your carbohydrate intake should be around 0.5g per pound of body weight.

* 0.5. grams of fats per pound of body weight.

This would provide your body with the necessary nutrients to function throughout the day while also supporting lean muscle tissue as you lose weight. That's an important step to consider, because you'll often hear people cutting their carbohydrate intake without increasing their protein intake and then wondering why they lose muscle instead of fat.

You do not need to be a qualified personal trainer or nutritionist to learn how to lose weight safely. The trouble is there's so much confusion caused by conflicting opinions and theories that most people get lost. Base your routine on scientific fact and you'll find it easier in the long run.




About the Author: