AIMAN INAM

SINGAPORE: Scientists in a novel research here have pointed out that excessive consumption of red meat could possibly boost up the risk of having kidney troubles.

The research further maintained that eating plant-based sources of protein might drastically decrease the menace of having kidney failure, said investigators.

In addition, it has also been discovered that a large amount of human beings are suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), of which scores have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), the stage where individuals have to go for a dialysis or a kidney transplant.

The study lead researcher from Duke-NUS Medical School and Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health in National University of Singapore, Woon-Puay Koh held: “We embarked on our study to see what advice should be given to CKD patients or to the general population worried about their kidney health regarding types or sources of protein intake.”

For conducting the study, panel observed records of some 63,257 Chinese adults from the Singapore Chinese Health Study.

Their results demonstrated that individuals who ate the maximum amount of red meat had a 40 percent high peril of mounting ESRD in comparison to people who consume the lowest quantity.

Koh further added: “Our findings suggest that these individuals can still maintain protein intake but consider switching to plant-based sources; however, if they still choose to eat meat, fish/shellfish and poultry are better alternatives to red meat.”

The health experts further urged people to swap one helping of red meat by means of other sources of protein particularly eggs, dairy products, soy, and legumes. This could lessen the menace of having ESRD by around 62 percent.

Their findings will be published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN)’s forthcoming issue.