A healthy diet and moderate intake of alcohol may decrease the incidence or progression of chronic kidney disease among individuals with type 2 diabetes, according to a recent study.
People with diabetes who ate a diet consistent with general health guidelines and high in fruit, vegetables, fiber and unsaturated fat were less likely to develop kidney disease than unhealthy eaters, according to the study researchers.
Moderate drinking – about five alcoholic drinks per week – was tied to a lower risk of chronic kidney disease, as was eating more animal protein. Sodium, measured from a urine sample, was not linked to a person’s chance of developing new or worsening kidney disease except at very high or low levels.
The results don’t prove that eating a healthier diet can ward off kidney problems. However, the study’s researchers wrote in JAMA Internal Medicine, “If the associations identified would be causal, then for each 1,000 individuals with type 2 diabetes and vascular disease adhering to a healthy diet, 131 would be expected to experience incidence or progression of (chronic kidney disease) within the next 5 years compared with 151 individuals on an unhealthy diet.”
Source: Medline Plus
