Experiments conducted in rats show that the use of high-protein diets increases the risk of kidney stones and other kidney diseases.
The authors of the work, published in the Nutricion Hospitalaria magazine, are scientists from the University of Granada (Spain).
According to Dr. Virginia A. Aparicio, lead researcher, protein-rich diets such as Dr. Dukan contribute to the formation of serious nephrological pathologies, e.g. kidney stones. This is because in the body of a person losing weight in this way, the level of urinary citrate (a natural inhibitor of calcium salt crystallization) drops significantly, and the urine pH decreases, while the concentration of calcium salts (appearing in response to acidification caused by excess protein) increases.
Dr. Aparicio’s team conducted an experiment with 20 Wistar lab rats. The animals were divided into two groups of 10 each. The first group was fed a high-protein diet based on commercial supplements with a protein content of 45 percent. The second group followed a normal diet with the usual amount of protein. The experiment was carried out over a period of 12 weeks, which – as the researchers explain – is the equivalent of 9 human years.
It turned out that rats on a protein-rich diet lost up to 10 percent during the experiment. your starting weight. However, their lipid profile did not improve, while the concentration of citrates in the urine of animals dropped significantly (by as much as 88%), and its pH dropped by 15%. In animals fed this way, the weight of the kidneys also increased (by 22%), the area of the glomeruli increased by 13%, and the mesangium (an anatomical element of the kidneys surrounded by a network of capillaries) increased by 32%.
As the authors explain, the obtained results clearly emphasize the need to take a closer look at slimming diets based on high protein consumption, as they can be a serious threat to health. People who eat this way should monitor their body in a special way and check themselves regularly.
Dr. Aparicio also emphasizes that the negative impact of the Dukan diet (and other such diets) on the kidneys also depends on the presence of other nutrients in the daily menu.
For example, eating large amounts of fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of kidney stones, possibly because these foods are high in potassium and magnesium. Potassium and magnesium are known to perfectly restore the body’s acid-base balance disturbed by a high-protein diet, ”he adds. (PAP)