High-acid diets may increase risk of kidney disease

by Dr. Lazowski

In the recent article from Kidney News, Tracy Hampton talks about high-acid diet and its effect on renal function. In an analysis of the 1988-1994 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), investigators revealed that patients with chronic kidney disease who consumed high-acid diets were three times more likely to experience End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) than those patients who consumed low-acid food. The study was published in Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (“High dietary acid load predicts ESRD among adults with CKD”). 1486 adults with chronic kidney disease were followed for 14.2 years and their dietary acid load was estimated from 24-hour recall. After adjustments for confounding factors, higher dietary acid load was associated with increased risk for ESRD. Contemporary Western diet contains more meat, fish, cheese, grain products and rice that are relatively stronger net acidifying foods. Fruits, legumes, vegetables and potatoes are net alkalinizing foods. More research is needed to confirm the finding that higher dietary acid load may lead to kidney injury.