0:00:14 - Diana, The PKD Dietitian
Welcome back. I'm glad that you're here. Today's episode of the PKD Dietitian Podcast is going to be our very first fact versus fiction episode. Is it fact or fiction that you should stop eating meat if you have PKD? What do you think? By the end of this episode, you will know the answer. The short answer to this question is no. You don't have to stop eating meat with a PKD diagnosis. However, how much you consume and what kind do matter when it comes to what you eat on a regular and consistent basis.
With PKD and protein, there are two main things that are important for you to consider the type of protein and how much. I want to briefly highlight the three main types of protein that are found in our diets. Now, guys, we're talking whole food protein here, natural sources, that is, not powders, potions and bars. So those three main protein sources are number one, plant protein. This is anything that comes from a plant Think nuts, tofu, beans, etc. The second protein source is animal meat, and, just like it sounds, it's the flesh of animals. It's meat Think fish, chicken, beef, etc. And the third protein source is what I like to refer to as animal protein. This is protein that comes from an animal Eggs and dairy and anything that comes from an animal. So the three main protein sources in our diet are plant protein, animal meat, and what does consumption of this look like in a typical American diet?
Americans have this strange obsession with protein. On average, americans eat about twice the amount of protein that they actually need, and guys, it's not just Americans. Canadians are right up there with how much they consume. Typically, they consume high levels, just like Americans, and, looking globally, most people are eating way more protein than we actually need for our health and for our bodies, but in the US and Canada we really have taken that to a different level. The thing is that even though Americans and Canadians are packing in all that protein, they're doing it in a pretty limited way. The majority of that protein comes from animal meat and then some animal protein sources like dairy and eggs, rather than any plant-based option.
Why is protein such a highly debated topic and considered controversial within kidney health and many other areas of health? Well, first off, there's lots of opinions out there, and many of them, guys, are based on what folks want to be true and they're really not based in or around the overwhelming reality of what we know about the kidneys and nutrition. Also, because dietary studies are hard, they're often observational and looking at patterns of self-reported intake. There's lots of research out there and, guys, it isn't all good. It is pretty easy to find some study somewhere that supports the opinion that you want to make Part of. What I like to do for the PKD community and as the PKD dietitian, is to act as a filter, a filter for you that filters out all the BS, all the noise and random nutrition recommendations and information so we can get to know the truth, what the science shows, and then what you can do about it. So that brings me to what do we know about protein and PKD?
We know the detrimental effects of a high protein diet on kidney health and kidney function. The science and research on this is strong, abundant and widely accepted. We know that there's lots of perks for PKD from plants and there's lots of perks for kidney health from plant-based protein. We know there's less waste, less stress and less toxins when protein from animals, animal meat specifically, is not done in excess, having plants. So those vegetables, those plant proteins, those fruits provide antioxidants, fibers and they're naturally lower in protein load. This is all beneficial for the kidneys. We also know that higher protein is higher kidney work. There's increased workload and stressors from excess meat protein consumption. Your kidney's ability to filter out that waste produced from protein sources in your diet and to buffer what digestion of that does decreases as kidney function decreases and this is why you see lower protein recommendations for folks who have lower kidney function, that is, a lower GFR.
Now that brings me to the question can you eat meat with PKD? Yes, yes, you can, but how much and what type? Have different protein loads and work and waste for your kidneys to filter? Factors to consider that I always look at are what's your kidney function, what's your weight, your exercise habits and there's numerous other conditions, including medical ones, that say, hey, this amount of protein, including animal meat, is good and safe for you. Here's also why it's important to think about protein consumption outside of kidney function. Heavy animal meat intake basically exasperates these imbalances that come with PKD, imbalances that we want to balance back out or help support and downregulate. Some of them are having acidic urine, having low citrate levels in the urine, higher uric acid levels. We don't want to make these worse.
I am a big believer in education and science, but in the end, what really matters is the actions that you choose to take, be them big or small. Know this. It adds up over your lifetime. So something as simple as Meatless Monday, think of how powerful that is over a whole lifetime. That brings us to the question is plant forward meatless? No, it's not. It just means that plants are a focus and a priority. There's lots of terms thrown around today. You'll hear plant based, plant forward, plant focused, plant dominant. I personally like plant forward. It's got a nice little positive spin. Those are all the same things where the focus is on plant-based. For all those perks for PKD, a plant-based diet emphasizes the consumption of plants and may or may not include small or even moderate amounts of meat, fish, seafood, eggs and dairy. Plant-based also includes vegetarian and vegan. It really isn't an umbrella term.
Recently, I led a workshop entitled Protein and PKD. One of the first things that I had folks do who came to the workshop was to write down an estimate of how many meals a day they had with meat in them. And this is a really nice place to start if you're trying to improve your diet for PKD, specifically around protein. So write down how many meals you have a day that have meat and notice I'm only focusing on meat. I'm not really looking at the animal protein. Take that number and multiply it by seven. That will tell you generally how many meals a week you are having with animal meat. It's a good way to start if one of your goals is to reduce your meat consumption. I like to keep it simple. So take that number and maybe reduce it by one, maybe reduce it by two. Set a simple goal.
During this workshop, I provided my PKD protein pyramid. I love this because it's simple and it's visual and the foundation is plant-based proteins. It goes up from there. At the very top is red meat. You want to have more of what's on the bottom and occasionally from what's on the top, and that's just looking at what type of protein. That's a really nice place to start From there.
We looked at well how big is your protein size, because protein sizes these days, particularly meat, are way out of proportion. You'll go get two chicken breasts and it will be a whole pound. Guys, that is a huge serving of protein, way more than your kidneys need. What can you do? Look at how frequently you're having animal meat. If you're having it a ton during the week, perhaps reduce how frequently. And if you want to take it a step further, start paying attention to how large your portion sizes are, because it does matter. So, bottom line, yes, you can eat meat with PKD. How much and how often is determined by your lifestyle, kidney function and other aspects of your health.
If you aren't sure what a good protein range is for you, or what that looks like, or even how to do it in a realistic way, let's work on that. Let's work on personalized PKD nutrition for you. Let's work on that. Let's work on personalized PKD nutrition for you. Your first step in doing that is to set up a PKD connect with me, and what that really is is a zoom with me, diana, the PKD dietitian, where we are going to look at where you are. We're going to talk about what your goals are, we're going to see how we align and how I can help with that and what that would look like working together. I have that linked out in the show notes for you and, again, that is your first step. I hope you found this episode valuable. There's a lot of BS out there around protein and PKD and I want every single one of you to have a trustworthy answer and a trustworthy source for PKD health information. Until next time, happy eating.
Transcribed by https://podium.page
