What's the Connection between Cholesterol & Kidney Disease?

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What's the Connection between Cholesterol & Kidney Disease?

JoAnn Guest

Oct 18, 2005 17:46 PDT

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Today's Question

I was concerned when I read that you're more susceptible to kidney

disease if your " good " HDL cholesterol is low. What's the connection

and what can you do about it?

-- John

 

Today's Answer

(Published 08/22/2003)

 

Results of a study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston

reported in the August, 2003 issue of the Journal of the American

Society of Nephrology showed that apparently healthy men

with low HDL (high density lipoprotein),the " good " cholesterol,

and high LDL (low density lipoprotein)

or " bad " cholesterol and

triglycerides have twice the normal risk of reduced kidney function.

 

The study included more than 4,000 initially healthy men whose blood

levels were checked an average of 14 years apart.

 

The findings were alarming because reduced kidney function can lead

to

kidney failure,

a chronic life-threatening condition that makes one susceptible to

malnutrition, anemia and bleeding, hypertension, seizures,

neuropathy, and a host of other dangerous metabolic disorders.

 

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), between 10 and

20 million Americans have early-stage kidney disease. Because

failing kidneys often don't cause any obvious initial symptoms, many

people have no idea that they're affected.

 

Once detected, controlling one's diet, blood pressure and

cholesterol

may help slow the loss of kidney function while reducing the risk of

heart disease and stroke.

The only treatments for kidney failure are dialysis and

transplant.

 

A month before the study findings were published, the NIH launched a

major new study to look at the health of people with chronic kidney

disease, in an effort to understand why this condition worsens

rapidly in some people and why some are more prone to heart disease

than others. The six-year study will recruit 3,000 volunteers at

seven medical centers throughout the United States. (Visit

www.cristudy.org for more information.)

 

In addition to low HDL and high LDL and triglycerides, risks of

kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure or a history of

kidney problems. Risks are higher than average among African

Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans.

 

If you're at risk, ask your physician for a blood or urine test for

kidney disease.

 

If you have low HDL (less than 40 mg/dl) and high non-HDL

cholesterol (your total cholesterol minus your HDL is higher

than 196.1), you could be at increased risk for kidney disease,

according to results of the Brigham and Women's study.

 

You can raise HDL by increasing outdoor exercise,

drinking wine in moderation,

and eating only certain healthy fats

(monounsaturates such as extra virgin olive oil

and omega-3s from sources like alaskan salmon and wter packed

sardines).

 

 

 

Dr. Andrew Weil

http://www.drweil.com/app/cda/drw_cda.html-command=TodayQA-

questionId=290495-pt=Question

_________________

 

Desired Goal:

 

To combat 'hazardous' LDL blood cholesterol, boost good HDL

cholesterol,

and keep as much as possible of your LDL

from becoming 'toxic to your arteries'. Here are your best bets for

doing it with diet.

 

 

Foods that Raise your Good

'HDL' Cholesterol:

 

Almonds

Avocadoes

Garlic (fresh is best)

Alaskan Salmon, mackerel, water packed sardines,

and other cold water fish (avoiding farmed varieties)

Macademia nut Oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (cold pressed)

Beta-carotene-rich foods (carrots,pumpkin, spinach, broccoli)

 

 

Excerpt

" Food your Miracle Medicine "

(How Food can Prevent and Cure

Over 100 Symptoms and Problems)

by Jean Carper

 

-

Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 6:07 pm

Post subject: High Protein Intake Harms Ailing Kidneys

------------------------------

 

High Protein Intake Harms Ailing Kidneys

Wed Mar 19,11:56 PM ET

HealthScoutNews -

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthScoutNews Reporter

 

WEDNESDAY, March 19 (HealthScoutNews) -- If your kidneys are not

healthy, a diet high in protein may speed up the damage to your

organs,

new research claims.

--

 

However, if your kidneys are healthy, eating protein does not seem

to

hurt them, the study concludes.

 

 

" We now have evidence to suggest that, in individuals with kidney

disease there is some reason to suspect a high protein intake could

be

potentially detrimental, " says study author Dr. Eric L. Knight, a

researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General

Hospital in Boston.

 

" Based on this study, I would say in individuals with normal kidney

function, we have no reason to believe that a relatively high

protein

intake has a harmful effect on the kidneys. "

 

 

The findings appear in the current issue of the Annals of Internal

Medicine.

 

 

Patients with chronic kidney disease are often put on low-protein

diets

to decrease the workload of the kidneys and slow progression of the

disease, Knight says.

 

After the body uses the protein from food, a waste product

called " urea "

is made and " excreted " by the kidneys.

 

If kidneys aren't working well, the excess urea may build up, so

decreasing protein intake is often suggested.

 

 

However, the question of whether high protein intake affects those

with

milder disease or no disease has received less attention, and with

high-protein weight-loss diets so popular now, the issue is timely.

 

" I think we are the first to study the impact of protein intake on

kidney function in those with normal kidney function and mild kidney

dysfunction, " Knight says.

 

 

Knight's team evaluated 1,624 women who were part of the large,

ongoing

Nurses' Health Study and had given blood samples in 1989.

 

One quarter of these women, or 489, had mild kidney problems, as

detected by a blood test, and the other 1,135 had healthy kidneys.

 

 

Protein intake was measured in 1990 and in 1994 via food

questionnaires,

and blood samples were taken again in 2000 to test kidney function.

 

Those in the highest category of protein intake " were 3.5 times more

likely to have a significant decline in kidney function, " Knight

says.

 

That was defined as at least a 15 percent decline in functioning.

 

Animal protein in particular was " associated " with worsening kidney

function.

 

 

The average weight of the women in the study was 154 pounds, and

those

in the highest intake category averaged 93 grams of protein a day,

Knight says. '

 

That's about the amount of protein found in three chicken breasts,

each

about three ounces.

 

 

The Institute of Medicine (news - web sites)'s Food and Nutrition

Board

recommends a daily protein intake of .8 grams per kilogram of body

weight.

For a person who weighs 154 pounds, that translates to 56 grams of

protein daily.

 

No more than 35 percent of total daily calories should come from

protein, the institute also recommends, with a range of 10 percent

to 35

percent.

 

 

Susan Roberts, a professor of nutrition at Tufts University who has

also

researched the topic, says the conclusion of the new study

is " probably

valid and good " and points out the study is based on large numbers.

 

 

Anyone with kidney disease, she says, should keep an eye on protein

intake, but not go lower than the amount recommended by the

government.

" Those with pre-existing kidney disease should get advice from their

doctors before starting a diet high in protein, " Knight says.

 

And since mild kidney problems usually are not accompanied by

symptoms,

people might not be aware their kidneys are ailing, he adds.

A blood test can help determine the status of your kidneys.

 

More information

The National Kidney Foundation has more on the warning signs of

kidney

disease and special diets for those with kidney disease.

 

_____________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets