The effects of soy foods for kidney disease patients

The effects of soy foods for kidney disease patients

The kidneys play an important role in breaking down proteins. When you have kidney disease, they cannot perform this role as efficiently. Managing kidney disease and slowing the decline of function involves specific dietary changes, including monitoring protein intake. Research indicates that eating soy protein in lieu of animal proteins might benefit kidney disease.
Importance of Professional Guidance
While some proteins, like soy protein, might not impact the kidneys as negatively as other types of proteins, you must watch your intake of all kinds if you have kidney disease. Since diet plays such an important role in managing this condition, you should always consult with your doctor or dietitian before making any drastic changes to your eating habits, particularly changes related to protein intake. No recommendations for daily intake exist across the board and your daily limit will depend on what capacity your kidneys currently have, as well as other individual factors.
Soy comes from soybeans and is made of 3-sn-phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, and phosphatidyl-inositol. It is not uncommon as a meat replacement additive to diets, as the texture and protein content are comparable. Textured vegetable protein, tempeh, and tofu are examples of soy protein foods used in plant-based diets.
Despite the limitations of these studies, including small size, unblinded design, and limited data on the effect of soy protein on potassium and phosphorus, the data seem to indicate that in pre-dialysis and dialysis patients, soy use may have some benefit.
Amino Acid Balance
All foods that contain protein contain amino acids, the building blocks of this vital nutrient. Your body cannot make all of the amino acids it needs, meaning you must get them from your diet. The amount of amino acids a food contains determines whether it ranks as a high- or low-quality protein. Animal foods rank as high-quality proteins while many plant foods rank poorly because they typically do not contain a good ratio. Registered dietitian Joan Brookhyser, writing for the American Association of Kidney Patients, notes that soy protein represents a high-quality protein with a good balance of these essential amino acids.
You need high-quality protein for normal, healthy functioning, but animal proteins tax the kidneys more. While you do not totally need to give up animal foods, the amino-acid content of soy ensures getting a high-quality protein that will put less stress on your kidneys, allowing you to reduce animal proteins with less risk to overall health.