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Protein Recommendations for Kidney Disease Stage

Kidney disease or Chronic Kidney Disease (KCD) occurs when the kidneys are unable to function normally due to attacks on the nephrons, (the part responsible for filtering). Unfortunately for victims of KCD, when the causes are natural, it can take several years or even decades to detect the problem. Natural causes include diabetes, hypertension, autoimmune diseases or inherited or prenatal factors. Some unnatural causes include injury or poisoning of the kidneys. A high protein content in the urine can be indicative of kidney disease, and when you have kidney disease you may be required to limit your protein intake.

  1. Kidney Disease

    • Normal kidneys filter wastes out of the blood in the body, but leave protein alone. A diseased kidney usually fails to separate a blood protein called albumin from the wastes it normally filters from the body. Increased protein content in the urine is a strong indicator of CKD. Increased protein content is called proteinuria. When proteinuria occurs, you generally have to limit your protein intake, in order to give your body the amount of protein required to sustain bodily functions, but to cut out any excess proteins, as protein cause strain on the kidneys in a patient with CKD.

    Stages

    • The intake of protein a CKD patient can consume is decided based in part on the stage of kidney failure. Kidney failure is divided into five stages, from I to V, with I being the least serious. The criterion for staging is the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), a count that determines how much blood the kidneys can filter. This rate is an indication of how well the kidneys are able to function. In stages I to III, your GFR ranges from 30 to 90, the latter of which is considered normal. If the protein content is high, it means excess protein storage is occurring, which can be dangerous as an excess can cause weakness, nausea, vomiting, loss or increase of appetite, changes in taste and an itching sensation.

    Protein

    • In stages I to III kidney disease, your protein level should be kept at 12-15 percent of the total calorie count of food consumption. In stage IV, it should be kept at 10 percent of the daily calorie intake. In stage V, you are put on dialysis. At this stage, protein control is no longer needed, as the protein is filtered by dialysis, and you can eat normal levels of protein. In fact, once you are on dialysis, in some cases your doctor may actually advise higher levels of protein to keep the body running properly.

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