Today we will examine another request from the comment section of the blog, which was simply the phrase “protein shakes and diabetic kidney.” The person requesting didn’t specify what he or she wanted to know within this subject, so as I poked into it, I had to assume the request was to find out why this is a terrible combination.

I’m going to begin with the end in mind: diabetics should never, ever drink protein or meal replacement shakes, and not because of the sugar.

To elaborate, we’ll have a brief look at the primary ingredient (protein) and why diabetics have a hard time with excessive amounts of it.

Chronic Kidney disease has a lot of causes but the most common cause is diabetes. More than 40% of newly diagnosed CKD is due to diabetes.  Untreated, it will progress to kidney failure.

Kidney disease in diabetes is reflected in the amount of protein albumin in the urine. Initially as the disease begins, protein spilling into the kidney can be detected before any damage has occurred and the kidneys can even still function normally to filter out waste.

Creatinine is one waste product that should be removed. It is a chemical that is made as muscles fire.  It starts out as creatine, which is a normal energy supplier to muscle.  This is also touted as a main ingredient in many muscle-gainers for body builders.

Creatinine is no longer filtered out, because the kidney’s filters (glomeruli) begin to stop functioning. This buildup in the body wreaks havoc on all other systems.

The glomeruli find themselves under attack due to increasing amounts of protein albumin building up. As waste builds up other problems within the body develop, such as an increase in blood pressure, as a response to that stress.

So, back to the key advertised ingredients of protein meal replacement shakes and muscle-building shakes: protein and creatine.  Diabetics have a hard enough time eliminating the waste from a normal diet.  Adding super-concentrated amounts only adds insult to injury.

There are low-glycemic index shakes available and are marketed to people who are trying to lose weight, but these are never appropriate for diabetics.  They are not really even appropriate for people without diabetes.

Just because something says it’s low in sugar doesn’t make it a good food choice.  Know what else a lot of those shakes have in them?

• Soy- unless you are in menopause and need a bio-identical hormone supplement, avoid soy when you can
• Milk casein- even if you mix the powdered versions with water, you are still going to insult your digestive tract with a load of hard-to-digest material
• Egg albumin- people with allergies, intolerances, and other albumin-related conditions beware.
• Preservatives and other chemicals that provide no nutritive value
• Secondary gift of constipation due to the increased protein consumed in the absence of quality fiber

If your issue is Type II diabetes and you are told that weight loss is what will help reverse it, then there are much better and safer ways to reach both goals.

Adding a protein or meal replacement shake is an example of a lifestyle choice. It is a terrible example. If you can consider taking a shake to replace unhealthy meals, then certainly you can consider just eating a healthier meal.

Meal replacement shakes are expensive and there are very few nutritionists and dietitians that would ever recommend them for any person, whether they are diabetic or not.

Save yourself the money and go with real meals that you prepare yourself.

For more information on other lifestyle changes to reverse Type II diabetes that are safe and natural, including meal options and grocery store suggestions, see my Beat Diabetes guide today.

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