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Low carb & kidneys

MarchHare

MarchHare

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Good morning!

I'm considering embarking on a low(ish?) carb diet, for blood sugar & weight loss reasons, but am concerned as I have stage 3 CKD. My kidney function is bobbling about currently just below 30%, but is reasonably stable.

I'm aware that diets such as Atkins come with a caveat regarding kidneys; what is the likelihood (in your experience or opinions) of a low carb diet exacerbating my condition?
The last thing I want is to find that, after 6 months of low-carbing, I’ve knocked 10% off my kidney function and put myself several years closer to dialysis/transplant requirements!

I don’t have an appointment with my renal consultant until early August so I can’t really discuss it with him until then. In the meantime, I’d quite like to get my blood sugars under a tighter control, and I’d also like to have shifted a few pounds (as I think it will help my blood pressure, plus we’re going away mid-August & I have trousers that don’t fit!)

Any advice or opinions gratefully received.
 
Well it's just my n=1 result,but my LC diet has INCREASED my kidney function (from high teens at diag to 36 eGFR)
 
Fergus, I bet you are jumping over the moon.
With teens they start talking about transplants.


Mh, lchf is ok. It's high protein that is no good
 
jack412 said:
Mh, lchf is ok. It's high protein that is no good
Click to expand...


I was under the impression that it was difficult to low carb without increasing protein.
How much protein would you say was "too high"?
On a typical day currently I eat around 1200 calories, 40g fat, 130g carbs, and 55g protein. How would I adjust this to encorporate low carb, high fat, low protein, have good bg and also lose weight?
 
Keep the protein intake the same, cut carbs to minimum and fill up fat. You only restrict carbs, not fat, not calories. Eat until you are full. Drink plenty of water and if you get dizzy take some extra salt. It is common to get slightly deficient in salt the first week. I don't know how sensitive you are to salt, might be different with kidney disease.

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
 
Dr advice re protein. I would say 55g is fine for most normal sized or 0.8 per kg of lean bmi
As totto said cut carb add fat
 
With only 30% of your kidney function left I would hold off until you see your consultant in a few weeks time, then you can discuss your proposed diet and get their feedback.

In the mean-time try reducing your carbs but not to the extent to that of a Atkins style diet.

Good luck!!!!
 
It's so frustrating!
The bg I can deal with, but I really want to lose a bit of weight before we go away. I feel like I've been "on a diet" for months now without anything really happening, weight-wise. Very annoying!

Maybe, in the first instance, if I cut out any lunchtime carbs & aim for around 100g a day that would help?
 
Hi, my eGFR is 60 and has stayed there throughout low carbing, it doesn't seem to have been effected either way but i know someone who has had a massive improvement to their kidneys whilst low carbing, i never watched my protein intake at all, or fat or calories, but obviously this is hugely important so although i almost always go against seeking medical advice for things, in your case i think you should, even if to get more regular testing during your new diet or something, its scary stuff huh, any reduction is a good reduction imho so going from 130 to 100g sounds good, best of luck :)
 
As others have said, if you are reducing carbs you should substitute with (good!) fat and take care not to overly increase protein. My eGFR was in the 60s at Type 1 diagnosis, now about 110. Better BG control seems to be the main factor.
 
Thank you for the replies!

I'm not sure if my kidney function *can* improve, due to the phsyical damage to my kidney. But it's definitely something I will discuss with the renal team next month.
I'm also going to see if I can have a chat with a renal dietician/nutrition specialist as I've not actually done that at all since being diagnosed. Will definitely be helpful.

This week I have started reducing the carbs in my lunch - todays lunch was just 15g, none of which were "added" carbs (bread, potatoes etc) which I think is something I can sustain long-term. It's a start anyway!
Although saying that, I lost 1lb last week (before any carb-reduction) which cheered me up :)
 
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