Kidneys are highly vascular organs, meaning they are packed with blood vessels , which is why they look so red. They process up to 150 quarts of blood every twenty-four hours just to make the 1-2 quarts of urine you pee out  each day. Healthy kidneys work hard to retain protein and other vital nutrients, preferably filtering toxic wastes out of the bloodstream via our urine. If the kidneys are leaking protein into urine, that’s a sign that they may be starting to fail.

1. Kidneys are so crtitical to proper heart function that patients under age forty five with kidney failure can be hundred times more likely to die of heart disease than those with working kidneys (Ref1)

2. A national survey found that only 41 percent of Americans tested had normal kidney function compared to 52 percent a decade earlier (Ref2)

3. Harvard University followed thousands of healthy women for more than a decade to look for the presence of protein in the women’s urine (sign that Kidneys are starting to fail). The researchers found three specific dietary components associated with this sign of declining kidney function: animal protein, animal fat, and cholestrol. The researchers found no association between kidney function decline and intake of protein or fat from plant sources (Ref3)

4. Among the diseases whose incidence have increased the most over the past generation is chronic kidney disease. The number of deaths has doubled (Ref4)

5. The saturated fat, trans fat, and cholestrol found in animal products and junk food are also associated with impaired kidney function, and meat protein increases the acid load to the kidneys, boosting ammonia production and potentially damaging our sensitive kidney cells. This is why a restriction of protein intake is often recommended to chronic kidney disease patients to help prevent further functional decline (Ref5, Ref5.1)

6. Within hours of consuming meat, your kidneys rev up into hyperfiltration mode. This is true of a variety of animal proteins- beef, chicken, and fish appear to have similar effects. But an equivalent amount of plant protein causes virtually no noticeable stress on the kidneys (Ref6, Ref6.1)

7. Another reason animal protein may be so detrimental to kidney function is that it is generally more acid forming. This is because animal protein tends to have higher level of sulfur-containing amino acids, such as methionine, which produce sulfuric acid when metabolized in the body. Fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, are generally base forming, which helps neutralize acids in our kidneys (Ref7)

8. A study on the kidney stone risk  conducted by Oxford University researchers found that subjects who didn’t eat meat at all had a significantly lower risk of being hospitalized for kidney stones, and for those who did eat meat , the more they ate the higher their associated risk. (Ref8)

9. A 2014 study found that gram for gram, fish might be slightly worse than other meat in terms of the risk of certain kidney stones, but they concluded that overall, “Stone formers should be counseled to limit the intake of all animal proteins.” (Ref9)

10. Uric acid blocking medication like allopurinol may be effective, but they can have serious side effects. On the other hand, removing all meat from a standard Western diet appears to reduce the risk of uric acid crystallization by more than 90 percent within as few as five days (Ref10, Ref10.1)

11. Having too much phosphorus in the blood may increase the risk of kidney failure, heart failure, heart attacks, and premature death. Excess phosphorus also appears to damage our blood vessels and accelerate aging and bone loss. (Ref11)

12. By switiching to a plant based diet, you can achieve a significant drop in your blood phosphorous levels even as your intake levels of the mineral remains constant. This occurs because the phosphorus in animal foods appear in the form of a compound called phosphate, which is absorbed into the bloodstream more readily than phytate, the predominant form of phosphorus in plant foods. (Ref12, Ref12.1)

13. The worst type of phosphorus, though, is that found in phosphate food additives. These phosphorous compounds are added to cola drinks and meat to enhance their color. Less than half of most plant phosphorus and about three quarters of natural animal product phosphorus gets into your bloodstream, but added phosphate can be absorbed at a rate of 100 percent. (Ref13, Ref13.1, Ref13.2)

14. In the United States, eleven different types of phosphate salts are allowed to be injected into raw meat and poultry, a practice that’s long been banned in Europe. This is because phosphates found in meat and processed foods are considered “vascular toxins,” capable of impairing our arterial function within hours of consuming a high-phosphate meal. In meat, there’s an additional food safety concern, as adding phosphate may increase the growth of leading food poisoning bacteria Campylobacter in poultry purge upto a millionfold. (Ref14, Ref14.1, Ref14.2, Ref14.3, Ref14.4)

15. Chicken appears to be the worst offender: A supermarket survey found more than 90 percent of chicken products contained phosphate additives. (Ref15)

16. One hot dog has as many nitrosamines (and nitrosamides, which are similar tobacco carcinogens) as four cigarettes and these carcinogens are also found in fresh meat, including beef, chicken, and pork. This may help explain the rising rates of kidney cancer over the last few decades despite the falling rates of smoking (Ref16, Ref16.1)

17. While nitrite from animal sources – not just processed meats – was associated with an increased risk of kidney cancer, some of the highest nitrate-containing vegetables, such as arugula, kale, and collards, are associated with significantly reduced risk for kidney cancer. This is because nitrites themselves are not carcinogenic; they turn into carcinogens. Nitrites only become harmful when they turn into nitrosamines and nitrosamides. For them to do that, amines and amides must be present, and amines and amides are found in abundance in animal products. This transformation can happen in the meat itself or in the stomach after you eat it. In the case of plant foods, the vitamin c and other antioxidants  that are found naturally in them block the formation of these carcinogens in your body. (Ref17, Ref17.1, Ref17.2)