Dr. Sam Robbins‘ Health, Fitness & Longevity Podcast
Health & Fitness
Does High Protein Cause Kidney Damage or Stones - Clinical Evidence
High Protein & Kidney Failure
Years ago, I had a business partner. He was a bodybuilder. He was about 20 years older than me. He had more experience than me and I respected and trusted him at the time.
And he would always tell me that I need to eat more protein if I want to gain more muscle.
Especially, “lean muscle” ...
He said I need a minimum of 2 grams per pound and 3 grams would be even better.
I weighed about 200 lbs and thus, he wanted me to eat at least 400 grams to 600 grams of protein daily.
That’s a lot of protein. I was eating around 200 grams at the time. 1 gram, per pound of bodyweight.
However, I decided to go on this journey.
I first doubled my protein and went to 400 grams daily. This was really hard, but I managed to do it for a month.
I decided to eat 50 grams, with 8 meals daily. At least half of them were protein shakes made with whey protein.
After 30 days, I noticed weight gain - which was probably just from the extra calories. However, I was very bloated and tired.
Fast forward about 10 years later, he ended up dying of kidney disease and kidney failure. He was on dialysis for a few years and finally died.
Was it because of the very high protein diet? I don’t know….
I was no longer in contact with him for many years.
Who knows what else he was doing.
But I can guarantee that having that much protein, year after year, for sure added stress to the kidneys.
One of my original mentors who was a doctor and a bodybuilder, was also very much into high protein. He would tell me to eat a tub of cottage cheese every night - which was about 100 grams of protein.
Of course, I couldn’t do that because I’m lactose intolerant.
But he did. And years later he also died of kidney failure.
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