A Personal Trainer's View On A High Protein Diet

Protein is one of the three macro-nutrients our body needs. Every one knows that protein is needed to maintain a balanced diet but there is still controversy regarding the sources and amount needed on a regular basis. As a personal trainer I want to briefly discuss this.

Many people including health professionals fear that large volumes of protein consumption may damage the kidneys. Often kidney stones or even kidney disease are being related to high protein consumption, this may be because of their natural regulatory role with processing protein waste (urea).. The general concern is high quantities of protein will over stress the kidneys and cause renal dysfunctions.

I want to look at the facts and see if protein is a valuable and safe energy source that we can consume in high volumes on a regular basis.

There are hundreds of studies conducted to understand the effects of high protein diets upon the kidneys, one main study at the University Of Connecticut looked at how diets containing double the amounts of recommended daily protein would affect the function of healthy kidneys. During the trials they found there to be an increase in urea and creatine excretion which has been a concern by health professionals for some while, however they concluded that despite the increase in waste, this is a normal response that a healthy individual can tolerate without any side effects.

They concluded that despite over 70 years worth of research there has been no conclusive evidence to suggest large amounts of protein will harm a healthy individual. I must stress this is not the same for people who do suffer with Chronic kidney disease and other kidney related disorders, strict diets must be followed as high protein intake can lead to increased kidney failure.

After analysing and reviewing all the information I am inclined to agree that the effects of a high protein diet balanced with fat and natural carbohydrates appears to offer no real contraindications to health. However, the health benefits are very noticeable.

With over 50% of Britain's entering the obese category and 1 in 4 children leaving secondary school suffering from obesity, conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart and kidney disease are rising. We must look at alternatives to bring down these numbers. Most families barley eat the recommended daily allowance of protein let alone above, protein and fat dominate diets have been proven to help balance sugar levels and lower insulin resistance which strongly correlates to the cause of type 2 diabetes and the above conditions. The real irony is conditions such as diabetes, heart disease often lead to renal failure as the condition matures. So by increasing your protein intake and limiting your processed carbs such as cakes, bread, crisps and pasta you will reduce your chance of developing these conditions.

To summarize the national kidney foundation does not indicate there should be any restriction on protein consumption as long as the individual is healthy. With the hype of media and misunderstanding we have lost touch with one of our best food sources. Protein is a more sustainable energy source than carbohydrates and is used for many processes including synthesising hormones, replacing damaged tissue, balancing sugar levels and regulating digestion. Most people could do with increasing their protein intake not reducing it.

And for any of the sceptics out there just ask yourself these simple questions - What is the Eskimos diet for the last few thousand years? The answer is meat, fish and fat from whales. So if this is all they have eaten so long shouldn't they have high amounts of kidney problems???

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