Diabetic Kidney Decline Averted by Fish Consumption

New scientific research points to the fact that diabetes sufferers who eat fish dishes at least twice a week have a much lower incidence of kidney disease. Though regularly doctors advise patients to limit the amounts of proteins they ingest, the new UK study seems to indicate that the source of the proteins is the problem, and not the substances in themselves. It may actually benefit diabetics to eat proteins, provided they come from fresh fish.
 

Experts at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, UK, analyzed a section of the national population, comprised of some 22,000 individuals, 517 of which were diagnosed with diabetes. In order to analyze the influence of fish proteins on their systems, the team, led by Dr. Amanda I. Adler, analyzed the levels of the protein albumin in their urine. This substance directly influences the state of a diabetic person's kidneys, as proven by several other studies as well.

 
The participants were also given questionnaires, in which they were asked to detail their eating habits, including the amount of fish they ate every week. Thorough analysis of the results revealed the fact that 18 percent of those who had less than a dish of cooked fish per week had albumin in their urine, as opposed to only 4 percent of those who ate fish more than twice per week.
 

The researchers are not yet sure why fish meat has this kind of influence on the kidneys, but they suspect that it may either help keep the levels of blood sugar in check, or improve lipid profiles in people suffering from both types of diabetes.
 

A further study is set to begin, which will try to find the best method of cooking the fish, as well as the optimum frequency of consumption. This could set the basis for a new dietary approach on the disease, which is now often associated with obesity as well.