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How do I do low protein plus low carb diet?

H

HurricaneHippo

Well-Known Member
Messages
294
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Ohhhhh I’m so confused

So I sent some blood off for a kidney function test and my GFR came back at 42 (low) and creatinine 131 (high). That’s been a bit of a blow today, so much so I’m thinking about going on the kidney meds that I was initially prescribed and also maybe the metformin. Although I’ve also read metformin isn’t great when you’ve got kidney issues. Who knows! I have a lot of reading to do


Anyhow I’ve been eating a lot of protein since diagnosis but now I can’t. So how do I do low carb and low protein? I mean what’s high fat apart from nuts? Aren’t all meats high protein?! Do I become a vegetarian?
 
Nice guidance is that you can continue with metformin as long as your eGFr does not fall to 30 or under mine is at the moment 38 so my GP has not taken me off them yet.

I still continue with Low Carb diet and eat a moderate to lower amount of protein.

Yesterday I ate about 40g of protein
, 30g of fats and 31g

This tends to vary day to day

Though I must admit as a retired 71 year old my requirements are not that great.

I have edited this post to correct a typo that is 39 to 30
 
Last edited:
HurricaneHippo said:
Ohhhhh I’m so confused

So I sent some blood off for a kidney function test and my GFR came back at 42 (low) and creatinine 131 (high). That’s been a bit of a blow today, so much so I’m thinking about going on the kidney meds that I was initially prescribed and also maybe the metformin. Although I’ve also read metformin isn’t great when you’ve got kidney issues. Who knows! I have a lot of reading to do


Anyhow I’ve been eating a lot of protein since diagnosis but now I can’t. So how do I do low carb and low protein? I mean what’s high fat apart from nuts? Aren’t all meats high protein?! Do I become a vegetarian?
Click to expand...

Excuse my ignorance but how do the liver tests relate to having to reduce your protein?
 
JohnEGreen said:
Nice guidance is that you can continue with metformin as long as your eGFr does not fall to 30 or under mine is at the moment 38 so my GP has not taken me off them yet.

I still continue with Low Carb diet and eat a moderate to lower amount of protein.

Yesterday I ate about 40g of protein
, 30g of fats and 31g

This tends to vary day to day

Though I must admit as a retired 71 year old my requirements are not that great.

I have edited this post to correct a typo that is 39 to 30
Click to expand...


Thank you for replying can I ask what sort of thing you eat?

I’m 35 so a little bit shocked. Just assumed it takes years before kidney damage. Boy was I wrong
 
I agree that low carb can help kidney function but I found that high protein did cause me to have a lower kidney function. My kidneys obviously haven't read Dr Unwin and in any case the article concerns older patients and the OP is young.

Personally I would (and did) revert to moderate protein and low carb, adding fats like butter and cream when I was hungry. I drank mostly water.
My kidney function is now >90%.
 
Noting in passing that I found that if I drank a lot of water (2 litres+) for a couple of days before my blood test my eGFR improved markedly.
I (possibly wrongly) concluded that my kidneys were still functional and my usual fluid intake was not enough to flush them through thoroughly.
I think if your wee is almost clear then you are flushing through everything that is filtered out..
Possibly worth checking if drinking extra fluids before a test improves the figure; eGFR is a little unreliable.
 
TriciaWs said:
Not sure why you need to lower protein as well carbs? Unless your doctor hasn't caught up with this?

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/202...-high-protein-meals-new-study-identifies.html

EDITED to add, both my liver and kidney function test results improved after I went low carb.
Click to expand...

I have been low carbing for about 5 years now at least while until recently eating normal amounts of protein in which time my eGFR has gone from 60 to 38 how does this equate with this study I wonder.
 
zand said:
I agree that low carb can help kidney function but I found that high protein did cause me to have a lower kidney function. My kidneys obviously haven't read Dr Unwin and in any case the article concerns older patients and the OP is young.

Personally I would (and did) revert to moderate protein and low carb, adding fats like butter and cream when I was hungry. I drank mostly water.
My kidney function is now >90%.
Click to expand...


Thank you can I ask if your GFR and creatinine were both abnormal? Did they both get better then? When you say you drank mostly water…do you mean before testing or just generally day to day?
 
LittleGreyCat said:
Noting in passing that I found that if I drank a lot of water (2 litres+) for a couple of days before my blood test my eGFR improved markedly.
I (possibly wrongly) concluded that my kidneys were still functional and my usual fluid intake was not enough to flush them through thoroughly.
I think if your wee is almost clear then you are flushing through everything that is filtered out..
Possibly worth checking if drinking extra fluids before a test improves the figure; eGFR is a little unreliable.
Click to expand...


Thank you I did the blood test as soon as I woke up after a fast so was probably dehydrated. Is it worth fasting before the test?
 
JohnEGreen said:
I have been low carbing for about 5 years now at least while until recently eating normal amounts of protein in which time my eGFR has gone from 60 to 38 how does this equate with this study I wonder.
Click to expand...


Thank you - So you’ve found your GFR hasn’t improved on a low carb normal protein diet? If anything the number has decreased
 
My heads just a bit all over the place really. I was diagnosed initially with diabetes in 2018 and went into remission 3 months later. Obviously let myself go at some point in the pandemic. I’m just awfully surprised that I’ve done some form of damage to my kidneys, I’m not sure why it should be a surprise but I just assumed it would take longer for kidneys to succumb to a bad glucose levels.

And it’s more confusing with various sources implying the results can be affected by different factors (dehydration, fasting etc etc) so how does one really go about diagnosing kidney function for certain?!
 
HurricaneHippo said:
Thank you I did the blood test as soon as I woke up after a fast so was probably dehydrated. Is it worth fasting before the test?
Click to expand...

I think we may be at cross purposes?
I have my eGFR test as part of my 12 (or less) month check up by a blood draw from my arm at the surgery.
That doesn't tie in with testing as soon as you woke.
 
Not sure about this, but it seems eGFR is an estimate that is expressed in units relative to body surface area. So how does the guy in the Lab know what your particular measurement is? I presume they use BMI, which as we know is a dubious marker. This may explain why eGFR reduces over age - most of us tend to lose body mass as we age. Surface area may actually increase as we get more wrinkly (ne c'est pas?). I smell an elephant in the room here........
 
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