Processed meat, carbonated beverages may up kidney failure risk

If your diet consists of pro-inflammatory foods such as processed meat, carbonated beverages, and vegetables other than the green leafy and dark yellow variety, you may be at a higher risk of developing kidney failure, researchers, including one of an Indian-origin, suggest.

The findings showed that diets that contribute to inflammation are linked to a higher risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression.

“These findings have implications for the prevention of kidney failure using dietary approaches with low inflammatory potential,” said lead author Tanushree Banerjee, from the University of California-San Fransisco.

Foods that have been positively related to concentrations of inflammatory markers include tomatoes, carbonated beverages, vegetables other than green leafy and dark yellow vegetables, processed meat, red meat, organ meat and fish other than dark-meat fish.

For the study, to be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2018 between October 23-28 at the San Diego Convention Center, the research team studied a national sample of 1,084 adults with CKD.

The team found that 11.1 percent of the participants developed kidney failure over 14 years of follow-up.

“Nutritional interventions that focus on reducing the inflammatory aspects of diet should be tested for halting the progression of CKD,” Banerjee added.

Earlier, a study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, highlighted that polluted air can also increase the risk of CKD which occurs when a person’s kidneys are damaged, or cannot filter blood properly.

The study showed that people with diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or heart disease are at an increased risk of developing CKD.