Research
Hormonal
High protein intake (≥1.5 g/kg/day) does not cause renal damage or disease in healthy individuals with normal renal function, as observed increases in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and renal hypertrophy are normal adaptive mechanisms.
If you are healthy, you can safely eat high amounts of protein (1.5g/kg/day or more) without worrying about damaging your kidneys. Your body adapts by filtering blood faster, which is a normal function. This advice does not apply if you already have diagnosed kidney disease.
GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
we find no significant evidence for a detrimental effect of high protein intakes on kidney function in healthy persons after centuries of a high protein Western diet.
Why this rating
Based on a comprehensive review of multiple human observational studies, randomized trials, and animal models showing no adverse effects in healthy populations.
Source
Dietary protein intake and renal function
William Martin et al. · Nutrition & Metabolism · 2005
DOI 10.1186/1743-7075-2-25
narrative_reviewCited 299×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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