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Out of sorts, so sorry if I've been crabby. 😠 Got my bloodwork back Saturday, and I think the Great Adding a Little More Animal Protein Into My Diet experiment is over. As well as the concurrent experiment with prioritizing protein. Why? Whacked out my kidney numbers that were so, so good 6 months ago. I've had issues with this before. In the past, when I've gone to my doctor about it for further testing, they've never found a problem, but I don't want to risk it. So the eggs and cheese have to go. I've found a couple of studies on the effects of plant protein vs animal, so am going to do some digging. I might keep fish once a week, but haven't decided completely on that. The big nutrient of concern, as Simon Hill (The Proof podcast) puts it, is Omega 3. I need to do a little more research on that. I may go to algae oil supplements. I know so many people preach protein, protein, and more protein, but wow, it's not working for me. Yes, there's a risk of losing muscle mass, but adding some strength training (been slacking) should help. I can live without as much muscle mass better than with wonky kidneys. In other news, even though my HDL was up (one bright spot), so was the LDL (slightly) and triglycerides. And fasting glucose and iron, oddly. I can probably blame the trigs on a recent spate of stress eating sweets at work, which I've now reeled in. Onward. Time to go vegan, or nearly so.
Diet Calendar Entry for 11 September 2023:
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1516 kcal
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Fat: 53.66g | Prot: 53.28g | Carb: 221.11g.
Breakfast: Quaker 100% Whole Grain Oatmeal, Cocoa Powder (Unsweetened) , Calavo Avocado, Bananas , Silk Unsweetened Soymilk. Lunch: Mixed Salad Greens, Barbecue Sauce, Sesame Oil , Vegan mozzarella, Cooked Lentils (Fat Not Added in Cooking), Watermelon , Sourdough bread. Dinner: Alter Eco Total Blackout, Medjool Dates , Vegan mozzarella, Salsa, Trader Joe's Fully Cooked Long Grain Brown Rice, Cooked Lentils (Fat Not Added in Cooking). Snacks/Other: Banana cookies, Wonderful Roasted, Salted & Shelled Pistachios, Apples , Silk Unsweetened Soymilk. more...
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1 to 20 of 33
 Comments
I’m confident you’ll prevail- you’re super active hiker & healthy in my book. My kidney is also not 100%, doctors told me to drink more water. Work in progress on LDL and HDL. All the best & please share your findings 👌🚴♀️
11 Sep 23 by member: MattRide
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11 Sep 23 by member: -MorticiaAddams
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You will find what works for you and always should follow the diet that is good for your health. My kidney numbers are off too but I have talked to my doctor about it with my workouts and high protein diet. Part of it for me is my age and you get grouped in with everyone so he said that is part of the issue the test comes back that way. He always runs the other tests and I am fine.
11 Sep 23 by member: Redporchlady
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WritingYo…please do share your findings. My GFR chart looks like a stock market graph. Thankfully nothing real serious…me and Dr want to keep it that way. Also told to drink more water! I’ll see in a couple of months how all my food tracking & food plan/changes are working. Thanks for sharing
11 Sep 23 by member: FoodyDuty
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I listen to The Proof a lot! Happy to have found another Simon Hill fan.
This is really interesting to me, writingwyo, because I’ve been kind of wondering about my protein intake, too. I feel I always fall short of the goal which is to be somewhere in the 90-100g range a day, but do I really need this much? I’m only 5’1” and my ideal weight is probably somewhere in the 120-125 lbs range which is what my weight was through my 20’s. I’m small-boned. I want to reduce my meat intake mainly to lower LDL, but I also have a history of kidney stones and high uric acid, so I need to think about my kidneys as well. Anyway, your thinking here really helps me focus on this issue.
11 Sep 23 by member: Agnes Z
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More later, but Agnes and FoodyDuty -- have some links here. I found a 2020 Iranian study published in an Open Access journal BMC Nephrology that indicates an advantage to plant protein over animal in terms of kidney disease: https://bmcnephrol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12882-020-02079-y. I looked up the journal on JournalGuide, and it was whitelisted https://www.journalguide.com/. (Wanted to make sure it wasn't a predatory journal.) I searched for the study on Google Scholar, and it had been cited 38 times, which led me to a literature review in Clinical Nutrition ESPEN coming to the same conclusion https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2405457722000419. It was referring to Diabetic Kidney Disease, however, and I'm not diabetic, so there's that. Dunno. I'll give the caveat that I'm no expert in evaluating scientific studies, and I've barely scratched the surface on this search. But, since I prefer plant protein, anyway, gonna stick with it and see if it improves.
11 Sep 23 by member: writingwyo
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I had to go look at my most recent lab results to see if there was something that was for kidney function. I guess it is egfr and mine was fine for my age at 83. I read that the higher the better. Why would you adding more protein and having a little more animal protein throw off the kidney numbers, I wonder? I don't eat meat every day, maybe 3 to 4 times a week. Right now I am cooking a meatless stew and it's really hard to get the protein numbers up to where I want them (around 60). Our cholesterol issues seem about the same. Some of my numbers are just a little higher than they should be. HDL is fine, I eat nuts most days and only use olive oil when cooking. I hope things work out okay for you with the changes you plan on making. I do remember the very first time they checked my cholesterol, around age 30, they told me my numbers were like a vegetarian's so I guess it's typical to have good numbers if you don't eat much meat. I've never eaten it every day.
11 Sep 23 by member: Fritzy 22
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And Agnes -- Simon Hill is great! I like that although he's vegan, he's not a wild-eyed activist. He recognizes and acknowledges the ups and downs of both omnivorous and vegan eating patterns. He has great guests -- have you listened to the one with Christopher Gardner? He's a nutrition researcher at Stanford University and really funny. A good YouTube channel if you enjoy Simon Hill is Nutrition Made Simple with Gil Carvalho (think that's the spelling...).
11 Sep 23 by member: writingwyo
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Where do we find Simon hill?
11 Sep 23 by member: cindylynnwho
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cindylynnwho -- look for The Proof with Simon Hill either on YouTube or wherever you find podcasts
11 Sep 23 by member: writingwyo
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Thanks for the links, writingwyo. I am no expert in reading scientific literature either but I like how careful you are with the sources. My approach is similar to yours: I want to eat more plants/less meat for a whole bunch of reasons. My diet will still include fermented dairy, some eggs, fish, and even, occasionally, lean meat, but like you I expect to see some health benefits from going more plant-based, so it will be interesting to see if that indeed will be true. I know Gardner from several podcasts he’s been on—last time I saw him on Rich Roll’s. He is indeed a very engaging and funny speaker. It’s funny how my following of these nutrition and diet gurus has been evolving. It started in 2020 with FoundMyFitness’ Rhonda Patrick, then I discovered Fung and the low carb gurus of Low Carb Down Under and dietdoctor.com, then I had a Peter Attia phase (I still check his podcast occasionally), but now I listen more to a spectrum of people, like Simon Hill, Huberman, Norton Layne. Carvalho sounded familiar, and sure enough when I looked him up I recognized the face. I haven’t seen his own channel but saw him as a guest somewhere. Honestly, I found him a bit boring but will give him a listen if he pops up in my go-to podcasts.
11 Sep 23 by member: Agnes Z
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I have always admired your knowledge of food and nutrition. You will figure it out!
12 Sep 23 by member: honeebuns
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12 Sep 23 by member: cindylynnwho
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MattRide and Morticia -- thank you 😊 I'm going to get back to what I was doing before more, minimizing eggs and dairy and prioritizing fiber over protein. After I calmed myself down from my freakout, I realized I don't really want to go fully vegan. Interestingly, even though most people on FS seem to preach protein as the magic bullet for weight loss, both my husband and I have had more difficulty keeping our weights down since we upped it. I'll retest in a month, and if it's still off, 'll see my doctor
13 Sep 23 by member: writingwyo
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Redporchlady -- you lift as I recall, right? In that case, I can see why you would want to prioritize protein. In the past, they've run the other tests and said I was ok, but I'm still not comfortable with it. I'm in this for longevity, not for a specific body type, and I believe the preponderance of evidence supports a Mediterranean diet, and on the more vegetarian/vegan side of that spectrum. That said, I might slip sometimes, but I really try to not tell other people what to eat. You are absolutely right that we all need to find what works for us
13 Sep 23 by member: writingwyo
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Agnes - sounds like you and I have similar playlists. Huberman didn't do much for me, but I love Layne Norton. I especially like his "What the Fitness" videos. I watched some low carbers initially, but I didn't find them convincing and now don't bother. I prefer to listen to those who have formal training in nutrition and/or who are actually doing nutrition research. Haven't watched much Attia, but some. For the more vegan perspective, I enjoy Plant Chompers on YouTube. I will say that a lot of vegan influencers are way too dismissive of any potential nutrients of concern. As I mentioned to RedPorchLady, I'm really focused on long-term health and longevity
13 Sep 23 by member: writingwyo
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honeebuns -- it means a lot to hear you say that. <3 I've tried as much as possible on FS to connect with those who are on the Mediterranean to vegan spectrum, but sometimes I feel like the plant-focused voice in the wilderness in a keto world, LOL. I do truly, truly love to learn about nutrition, and I've been like that for most of my life. Can't say I haven't gone down some wrong paths, but I tried to keep learning. FS has been HUGE in my learning process. Until I started tracking, I never knew how much protein and fiber, etc, I was getting and how to create a diet that has a healthy balance
13 Sep 23 by member: writingwyo
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Fritzy - I've read that the idea that too much protein affects the kidneys is a myth, yet it seems to affect mine. I've also read that it might affect them IF you're predisposed to kidney disease, but wow, I hope not. Yep, the higher the GFR the better, and mine is low. Going to modify my diet, ease off on the protein and animal products, and retest in a month. See if the one-person experiment works. ;)
13 Sep 23 by member: writingwyo
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Sent my lab results to my doctor. She said they weren't bad, but to limit my protein to no more than 60 grams and drink more water. So I have a plan. Yay! Fruit and bread, here I come! 🤣
13 Sep 23 by member: writingwyo
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That is great! I think I could do the Mediterranean diet if I can have a glass of red wine every night! All I know is that my doctor was going to put me on cholesterol, high blood pressure meds, pre-diabetic and osteopenia and I have reversed all of that with my strength training. I will be 60 soon and being strong has taken care of my lymphedema also so I think each of us has different issues and for me I had mutiple that needed to be addressed. I don't lift for appearance I do it for my health but the toned body is definitely a plus! My trainer's goal is to make sure I can get out of a chair as I age into my 80's. His whole theme is quality of life.
13 Sep 23 by member: Redporchlady
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