Before answering this question, it must be highlighted that the term 'risk' is solely concerned with ANY possibility of negative outcome and completely ignores any benefit derived.
Risk is not about balancing positive with negative. It is only about negative and EVERYTHING is a risk! Walking is a risk to injury. Eating is a risk to choking. Breathing is a risk to oxidative damage. This is the context by which doctors can correctly say a high protein diet is a 'risk' to kidneys.
Is a high protein diet likely to CAUSE kidney disease or failure? Absolutely not!!!! But doctors measure plasma Urea as a measure of kidney health. And with a high protein diet, more urea is produced as a predictable bi-product of additional protein metabolism. Doctors see this extra urea as proof of kidney stress. Its just not.
But a high protein diet MIGHT be too much for a person with pre-existing kidney damage or disease. It is an INCREASE to their 'risk' if they have virtually no margin for additional kidney load. Therefore it can be said that a risk does exist. And because risk exists doctors and dieticians will say nobody should ever follow a high protein diet! Its not necessary (for mediocrity) and it has 'risk'. They just conveniently ignore that a high sugar diet like most people follow is a catastrophic risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Personally, as somebody who has eaten between 400g and 600g of protein per day for most of the past 20 years and has no sign of kidney stress whatsoever, I absolutely do not believe it CAUSES any problem whatsoever. And after putting hundreds of athletes on similar protein intakes and watching the dramatic improvements to their strength and body composition with not a single negative outcome, I believe the benefits far outweigh the risk of a person having undiagnosed borderline renal failure which is tipped over the edge by a diet of natural foods that happen to be high in protein!
I also believe that a high protein diet is far less of a risk to the kidneys and other organs than the diet and alcohol practices of most Australians!
Visit www.BiologicLabs.com.au for Body Recompositioning diets, training programs, strength coaching, supplements and hormone balancing. Extreme fat loss and muscle development that Personal Trainers and Fitness gyms cannot achieve.
