The Study
Dietary protein causes a decline in the glomerular filtration rate of the remnant kidney mediated by metabolic acidosis and endothelin receptors.
This is like doing a science experiment with rats to see how different foods affect their kidneys. It shows us what happened to these specific rats in the lab, but we can't be sure the same thing would happen to people or even to other rats outside this experiment.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Scientists fed rats with special diets to see how their kidneys worked.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 56 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Not directly applicable to humans as this was a rat study.
- 2Casein food made kidneys worse, soy food kept kidneys healthy, and a medicine helped when kidneys were stressed.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Kidney international
Year
2008
Authors
S. Phisitkul, C. Hacker, J. Simoni, R. Tran, D. Wesson
Related Content
Claims (6)
Eating a lot of protein might put extra strain on your kidneys, which could be harmful over time.
Eating a protein called casein makes rats with damaged kidneys sicker by making their blood too acidic and slowly worsening their kidney function, and this happens because of a specific part in their body called endothelin A receptors.
When rats with damaged kidneys eat a soy protein diet with extra acid added, it makes their blood too acidic and worsens their kidney function, showing that the acid causes the kidneys to work less well.
In rats with kidney problems, blocking a specific protein receptor stops kidney damage caused by acidic diets, showing this receptor is important for acid-related kidney harm.
Giving baking soda in food helps fix acid problems and protects kidney function in rats with damaged kidneys, but only if you first handle the high blood pressure that baking soda can cause.
In rats with kidney problems, eating soy protein doesn't cause acid buildup in the blood and helps keep their kidneys working better compared to milk protein.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.