Atkins question about kidney problems

[BLAZING IN FL]

A friend of mine just mailed this to me, can anyone help her out?

"Hey, will you do me a favor....I went to see my doctor last week for a million reasons but mostly because I am sick of being fat and wanted some help. I talked to her about going back on Atkins and she begged me to stay away from it. She said she has sent 4 people to a kidney specialist and the first question out of his mouth was "are you now or have you ever been on the Atkins Diet" each of them had and each of them have kidney problems. Have you ever heard of that problem??? Can you check on it to see if there is anything out there about Atkins and kidney issues????"

[*Emma*]

Yes, i had kidney problems on my first time round on atkins, constant pains... im doctorphobic but the pain was enough to make me go...

My doc is pro atkins, well... wasnt until she saw my progress... now she recommends it to lots of people... wanna know what my kidney problems were? not drinking the recommended amount of water, i was dehydrating majorly causing problems...

so now i drink over and above, i have no problems and my doc is perfectly happy

[mitzimarie]

Michelle,

It is my understanding that Atkins can be harmful to those who already have a kidney problem before starting. I started Atkins at the suggestion of my primary care physician, who is 100% pro-Atkins and someone I trust totally. I have had more than my share of urinary complications that had nothing whatsoever to do with Atkins and had kidney stones years before starting Atkins. Even with these prior issues, my doctor is confident that Atkins is safe for me. I have a complete blood count and physical every year and things just look better and better... kidney function is one of the things they check. There are some kinds of issues, though, that people who have them should stay away from Atkins. I'm sorry that I don't have any details about which kinds of isssues those are... I just know that my particular ones don't clash with Atkins. To tell you the truth, I have a hard time believing what she said could be true. I mean, I don't doubt that your friend was told this, I just don't believe it's true that there are great numbers of people developing kidney problems from doing Atkins as long as they stay hydrated.

[BLAZING IN FL]

I agree with you, i just spent some time researching the WEB and only found articles that suggest if you already have kidney problems, it could aggrivate it, but in no way could it harm your healthy kidney. Lack of water will definatly cause kidney problems, as they girl next to me discovered just recently. Also, If man ate like this for thousands of years before sugar and junk was invented, why didn't they all die from kidney failure. I have to wonder also if a dr. did say that, sounds kind of unprofessional and maybe an attack toward atkins on her own part.

[Dotultimate]

My mother is on dialysis with kidney disease which came about from going on atkins. Whther it was FROM this or this diet aggrivated it... she wouldnt be dying if she hadnt gone on it.

I thing than anyone over 40 needs to seriously think before putting this strain on their bodies.

[grovemonkey]

Getting a good doctor check up before embarking on the atkin's is essential. Even better, having your doctor help you throughout the process. If you do the atkin's under the guidance of a physician, I don't know how that situation you describe could have occured. 　

It's also highly unlikely that being in ketosis caused the kidney failure or kidney disease. Here is a good article, fairly recently, that might help lead you to other interesting information. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/86/2/276

[Dotultimate]

Its nothing to do with ketosis. Its to do with the break down of proteins by our kidneys. Its also not something anyone who has comitted to the atkins diet should bother thinking about because it is a side effect. Its a reality...however everything people do can kill you - so if its kidney disease and skinny or heart disease and obese....

its all much of a muchness.

Obviously the thing people SHOULD do is eat HEALTHILY - completely balances diets (unlike ours thats a little askew) and exercise.... unfortunately most people (myself included) are not motivated to exercise and get in shape without that extra OOMPH the atkins diet gives to their weight loss.

Instant results = consistency in physical efforts.

[not2late]

Dr. Atkins recommended that anyone who went on his diet should get pre-diet laboratory work and get a physical examination done by a physician. "Routine" blood tests includes tests that test for kidney function. So if there was any kind of kidney insufficiency--even mild kidney problems, it can be detected with these "routine" blood tests.

If you don't bother to get these tests done before going on this diet or any diet, then it's your problem if you develop anything, imo.

Editing to add...

Also if you don't bother to read the book and don't bother to do this diet properly, it's your problem if something goes wrong with your health, imo. I've been around here long enough to see PLENTY of people doing "Atkins" by eating primarily proteins, ex 5 hard boiled eggs washed down with a protein shake for breakfast, a protein shake for a snack, two cans of tuna for lunch, a 3 pork chops for dinner and a few handfuls of pork rinds for a snack.

It doesn't take that much protein to make the 30% of your daily calories. In fact, it only takes about 3-4 ounces of meat three times daily to do that. So if you overload your weakened kidneys by doing your own version of "Atkins"---that's your problem, not the diet's.

[theredhead]

Studies have shown that there is no correlation between high protein and kidney disease in healthy individuals. Here's one such study:
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.co...-7075-2-25.pdf

Conclusion

Although excessive protein intake remains a health concernin individuals with pre-existing renal disease, the literature lacks significant research demonstrating a link between protein intake and the initiation or progression of renal disease in healthy individuals. More importantly, evidence suggests that protein-induced changes in renal function are likely a normal adaptative mechanism well within the functional limits of a healthy kidney. Without question, long-term studies are needed to clarify the scant evidence currently available regarding this relationship. At present, there is not sufficient proof to warrant public health directives aimed at restricting dietary protein intake in healthy adults for the purpose of preserving renal function.