LOW-IRON, CARBOHYDRATE-RESTRICTED DIET FOUND MORE EFFECTIVE THAN PROTEIN-RESTRICTION FOR END-STAGE KIDNEY DISEASE PATIENTS
Is a controlled carbohydrate nutritional regimen like Atkins a better option for patients with kidney disease than the usual recommendations? According to recent research published in Diabetes, evidence suggests that dietary factors other than protein consumption play an important role in the progression of kidney complications (diabetic nephropathy) during end-stage renal disease. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a carbohydrate-restricted, low-iron, antioxidant-enriched diet or, CR-LIPE, may delay and improve the outcome of diabetic nephropathy to a greater extent than the commonly recommended protein-restricted diet. It was found that CR-LIPE was 40-50 percent more effective than standard protein restriction in improving renal function and overall survival rates.
One-hundred ninety-one Type 2 diabetics were randomized to follow either CR-LIPE or the standard protein-restriction diet. The researchers monitored for the following: the doubling of serum creatinine (component of blood that increases in advanced stages of renal disease), the development of end-stage renal disease and death rates.
After four years, serum creatinine concentration doubled in 19 patients on CR-LIPE (21 percent) and in 31 patients following the protein-restricted diet (39 percent). Renal replacement therapy or death occurred in 18 patients on CR-LIPE (20 percent) and in 31 subjects following the protein-restricted diet (39 percent).
Reference: Facchini, F.S., Saylor, K.L., A low-iron-available, polyphenol-enriched, carbohydrate-restricted diet to slow progression of diabetic nephropathy, Diabetes, 52(5), 2003, page 1204-1209.