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High Protein diet affecting kidney function labs

Coolifornia

Coolifornia

Active Member
Messages
26
Location
Los Angeles
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Diet only
I hope I'm not posting too much, but this forum has been so helpful. Eating low carb has eliminated my reactive hypoglycemia, but at a cost - my BUN (blood urea nitrogen) has been rising ever since this dietary change. Last I checked, it was elevated beyond "normal" levels. It's from all the animal protein, but what am I supposed to do? A healthy way of eating with less meat and more carbs makes me hypo, but the diet that makes me feel great is stressing out my kidneys. I'm not interested in trying keto - I'm miserable enough with the way my dietary restrictions have affected my social life. I'm only 26 years old, can't have kidney failure! My other markers of kidney function were fine - creatinine, etc. It's just the BUN that's out of wack. Has anyone else experienced this?
 
How long have you been on the diet? I've heard that BUN can go up initially, but usually comes down again once you're adapted to the diet. Sorry, don't really know all that much about kidney function tests.
 
Although BUN is one of the tests used to evaluate kidney function, the normal range is based on a 'normal' amount of protein in the diet. If it is slightly elevated on a high protein diet, that doesn't mean that there is a problem with kidney function,it just reflects the amount of protein you are eating. Just make sure your GP is aware that you are following a high protein diet so this can be taken into account when evaluating your results.
 
NoCrbs4Me said:
How much protein are you eating? Most of your calories (>80%) should come from fat. Really, on a LCHF diet you shouldn't be eating any more protein than on a "normal" diet.
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@NoCrbs4Me A sample day for me: breakfast is two eggs and ham with melted cheese and some avocado, lunch is a chicken leg and thigh with steamed veggies or salad and/or occasionally beans, dinner is usually just some almonds or almond butter. Snacks are nuts and meat jerky.

The only thing I really change from day to day is the meat I eat at lunch. Sometimes instead of chicken it's beef or fish.
 
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Indy51 said:
How long have you been on the diet? I've heard that BUN can go up initially, but usually comes down again once you're adapted to the diet. Sorry, don't really know all that much about kidney function tests.
Click to expand...

@Indy51 I've been eating this way for about 6 or 7 months.
 
Dark Horse said:
Although BUN is one of the tests used to evaluate kidney function, the normal range is based on a 'normal' amount of protein in the diet. If it is slightly elevated on a high protein diet, that doesn't mean that there is a problem with kidney function,it just reflects the amount of protein you are eating. Just make sure your GP is aware that you are following a high protein diet so this can be taken into account when evaluating your results.
Click to expand...

@Dark Horse Thanks, that makes sense!
 
Dark Horse said:
Although BUN is one of the tests used to evaluate kidney function, the normal range is based on a 'normal' amount of protein in the diet. If it is slightly elevated on a high protein diet, that doesn't mean that there is a problem with kidney function,it just reflects the amount of protein you are eating. Just make sure your GP is aware that you are following a high protein diet so this can be taken into account when evaluating your results.
Click to expand...
I agree, @dark House. And, your wisdom blossoms forth from hidden depths.
 
Coolifornia said:
@NoCrbs4Me A sample day for me: breakfast is two eggs and ham with melted cheese and some avocado, lunch is a chicken leg and thigh with steamed veggies or salad and/or occasionally beans, dinner is usually just some almonds or almond butter. Snacks are nuts and meat jerky.

The only thing I really change from day to day is the meat I eat at lunch. Sometimes instead of chicken it's beef or fish.
Click to expand...
That doesn't sound all that high in protein. Probably the only thing that you might want to eliminate is the jerky,because it is usually high in protein and low in fat.
 
It is also deceptively easy to eat a lot of protein when eating jerky.

There is something like 27g of protein in 100g of steak, and 33g in jerky, possibly more.

Ok, I admit it. Knowing those figs without having to look them up makes me more than a little nerdy.
But hey, it is better than back when I was a walking encyclopaedia of calorie content of different foods ;)
 
Brunneria said:
It is also deceptively easy to eat a lot of protein when eating jerky.

There is something like 27g of protein in 100g of steak, and 33g in jerky, possibly more.

Ok, I admit it. Knowing those figs without having to look them up makes me more than a little nerdy.
But hey, it is better than back when I was a walking encyclopaedia of calorie content of different foods ;)
Click to expand...

@Brunneria Haha, I think that’s awesome! You never know when that knowledge will come in handy, like now for instance! I’ll cut back on the jerky, thanks for your reply.
 
I think also that eGFR is the measure most commonly looked at to assess kidney function, though as I said, it's not an area I know all that much about.

(Edited to fix correct test.)
 
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