Western diet may harm kidney function
Following a western diet, high in red and processed meat, saturated fats and sugar, may increase the risk of developing kidney function decline, a new study says.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers at studied the effect of three different dietary patterns including the Western, Prudent and DASH-style regimens on kidney function for over 11 years in more than 3,100 female US adults.
The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension) diet includes high amounts of fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods but is low in saturated fat, total fat and cholesterol. A prudent diet, on the other hand, contains plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, poultry and fish.
According to the results published in the American Journal of Kidney Disease, following a Western diet is associated with increased levels of albuminuria, a urinary protein considered as a marker of vascular disease and inflammation, and increased risk of rapid decline in glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), an index which measures how well the kidney filters blood.
Such a situation, however, was not reported in individuals on the other two diets, the study found.
"The kidney is a highly vascular organ, so we were not surprised to see that the Western diet, which has been linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, is also associated with kidney function decline over time," said lead author Julie Lin.
"Interestingly, this finding, along with other research, adds to growing evidence that albuminuria, which is widely considered to be an early reflection of vascular disease, may be influenced by diet," she added.
Source: presstv.ir
