Written by Tavishi Dogra | Published : December 28, 2022 9:57 PM IST
Dr Sashi Kiran A., Consultant Nephrologist, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad, says that the body's kidneys carry out several different tasks. Apart from excreting excess water and metabolic waste products, kidneys play a vital role in maintaining bone health and helping produce haemoglobin.
There are one million nephrons in each kidney. These nephrons have a limited capacity to regenerate. The rest of the cells comprising the nephron cannot restore; hence damage to them can be permanent.
They are increasing in incidence and prevalence due to lifestyle changes. For example, a sedentary lifestyle, consumption of junk foods and alcoholic beverages providing empty calories cause metabolic syndrome. The two main contributors to kidney disease are diabetes mellitus and hypertension, which are caused by this. Recently, diets similar to the keto and Atkins diets ( high fat with high protein and low carbohydrate diets) have been of particular concern.
Present-day youth, conscious about their physique, resort to a high protein, high fat and low carbohydrate diets. However, these diets have an inherent risk of damaging the kidneys. Our body is designed to use carbohydrates as an immediate fuel source, fats as a storage form and proteins as a source of power only as a last resort (starvation).
While it's easy for our body to produce energy from carbohydrates, it takes many metabolic pathways to be activated to create an equal amount of energy from fats and proteins.
In other words, fats and proteins are inherently inefficient sources of energy. This leads to weight loss when someone consumes a diet with a disproportionately high content of fats and proteins, making these diets popular among youth who aim to lose weight and have a sculpted body.
Unfortunately, these high protein and low carbohydrates diet produce a very high quantity of nitrogenous wastes and acid load, forcing the kidney to work harder to eliminate them. This results in hyperfiltration injury of the kidney, leading to renal failure over time.
Hence of paramount importance is to consume a diet which is balanced in nature. Such a diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans and nuts. It should also be low in sodium, sugars, fats, and red meats.
It is also essential to realise and remember that kidney disease is notoriously asymptomatic, and symptoms appear only after substantial damage has occurred to the kidney. This makes it imperative to suspect, evaluate and treat kidney disease as early as possible. In addition, individuals with risk factors for kidney disease need to get their kidney function periodically, even without any symptoms.
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