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Study shows LC diets can improve Kidney function

Thank you so much for posting this, it has taken a load off my mind and made me feel a lot more comfortable with my instinctive choice of trying to prioritise good BG and BP control.
When I looked online for my blood test results recently I noticed eGFR was 86. The lab had added a comment Stage 2 CKD which I would not have seen if I’d phoned for the results as the GP had put in the notes “ result satisfactory: no further action”. I was horrified as I only have 1 kidney ( lost one after complications in cancer surgery in 2017) so I would like to preserve its function. I guess it’s like diabetes - ignored until it’s bad enough prescribe meds. I’d much rather manage it now rather than waiting for it to get worse.
Looking at various kidney organisations I can only find advice to reduce protein and salt and pretty much everything else I eat in my low carb diet. The good old eatwell plate reared it’s ugly head too.
Good glycemic control must surely be at the heart of managing CKD for diabetics. I love Dr Unwin!
 
Not only kidney function but for all your organs especially liver.

The best results come because of hydrating just before the blood is taken.
About two litres is enough.
 
@DJC3 as far as I am aware, the eGFR is estimated - that is what the "e" stands for. The preferable range is over 90 and you are not far short of that. The way this is estimated is due to change but currently it looks at age, sex and race among a host of other things. The older we get, the more likely an estimated reading is likely to drop.

There are 5 kidney disease stages. In the stages 1 to 3 our kidneys are working fine in that they are still able to filter water etc out of the kidneys. In stages 4 and 5 they are having to work much harder to do their job. I don't know and am not a doctor, but as you only have one kidney I expect you have already been diagnosed with Stage 1 as you already have damage. They look at not only the eGFR but also existing damage and whether or not you have protein in your urine. If the eGFR is over 90 but you have existing damage or protein in the urine, you will be Stage 1. This moves to stage 2 if the eGFR reduces to between 60 and 89.

Sorry @Oldvatr , I am derailing.
 
Certainly I saw a very good improvement in my kidney function when I began a low carb diet, although it is difficult to say by how much because when I was diagnosed and started the LC diet I was still undergoing cancer treatment, on a drug that adversely affected the kidneys, so my eGFR was tested regularly at that time. Prior to cancer treatment it was between 75 and 86. Then it dropped to the 60's during treatment. After the treatment had finished it increased to 79. My first test since starting LC it was over 90 and has remained there ever since apart from an insignificant blip on 2 occasions.
 
@Bluetit1802 thanks, your replies have cheered me considerably. It must have taken a lot of conviction to stick with LC during that time, knowing the drugs were detrimental to kidney function - I’m sure you got some opposition.
It’s really good to know kidney function can improve too. From the online websites I’ve looked at, most seemed to imply this wasn’t possible.
In the paper @Oldvatr shared, Dr Unwin said the it was assumed that kidney function automatically declined with age (as you stated - it being part of the estimation) but his results show, like yours do that this isn’t necessarily the case either.
This has all made me feel a lot more positive. I’m very happy with all my health markers ( and yes, I agree @Lamont D liver included)
I’m not going to reduce my protein or salt intake but will carry on doing what’s best for me as I see it.
As an aside I saw David Unwin give a talk at the PHC conference a few years back ‘ Is salt to blame for the what the sugar did?’ It was excellent and might explain the current demonisation of salt
 

The bottom line is if it's working, why change it?
I was repeatedly advised to eat healthy carbs, but these healthy carbs were making my health deteriorate and my organs suffered.
I was diagnosed and through trial and error and fasting test, I discovered that I could cut out healthy carbs and eat to my monitor. From that day on, my health improved and I have complete control of my blood levels.

My physical health is really good, I just wish that my mental health was as good.
 
DJC3 said:
It’s really good to know kidney function can improve too. From the online websites I’ve looked at, most seemed to imply this wasn’t possible.
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@DJC3 More confirmation that using a low carb diet to reverse kidney damage works can be found in Dr Richard K Bernstein's auto-biographical article on his site:
http://www.diabetes-book.com/bernstein-life-with-diabetes/
After giving a devastating list of the ailments he developed as a T1 child and young man he writes this:
"I had begun testing my urine for protein and found substantial amounts of it, a sign, I had read, of advanced kidney disease. In those days—the middle and late 1960s—the life expectancy of a type 1 diabetic with proteinuria was five years. Back in engineering school, a classmate had told me how his nondiabetic sister had died of kidney disease. Before her death she had ballooned with retained water, and after I discovered my own proteinuria, I began to have nightmares of blowing up like a balloon."
However, he pioneered the use of meters at home to test for glucose and discovered that the high carb diet he had been told to eat was damaging, not helping him.
" Today, my results from even the most sensitive kidney function tests are all normal."
Now he is 85 and claims that the latest test on his kidneys shows them to be in fine fettle. He is still treating diabetic patients and recently re-married (after being widowed). I ardently wish I had a quarter of his energy. You can see him for yourself on Youtube as he still gives a Q&A seminar towards the end of every month. You can also read free extracts from his book"Diabetes Solution" including an article on kidney disease: http://www.diabetes-book.com/protein-restriction/

Also on Youtube I found this episode of Dr B's "Diabetes University" where he talks about kidney disease: I hope this helps.
 

Hi Alexandra, that’s really helpful. I do have Dr Bernstein’s book and agree he’s an absolute legend. I read it a few years ago though, and I’d forgotten about any mention of kidney disease. I’ll go back to it and re-read it. Thanks for the reassurance.
 
Rach612 said:
Thank you so much, it’s a blessing I have read this. It prompted me to ask for my egfr score. I was told results were all ok. My eGFR was 60! Would carnivore help it does anyone think?
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I think negative for the following reason. eGFR is estimated from the plasma level of creatinine measured in a blood test (usually a Whole Blood test or kidney function test). Now creatinine is a waste product from processing animal proteins and is directly related to the dietary intake of Creatine, Creatine is normally found in primarily red meats but also in most animal protein foods, It is a comodity that our bodies need,, but is not Essential since we can synthesise it from any other protein source. Even vegans make creatine, and have creatinine waste products, but just not as much as carnivores.

This is why you should avoid eating large quantities of animal proteins before the blood test. It is also a confounder when diagnosing kidney function, Body Builders also use Creatine supplements to build muscle tissue.

It only becomes an issue when the eGFR drops below 60. Note that as we grow older, eGFR also tends to fall but they do age-adjust when estimating it.
 
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