Take care of the environment, print only if it is necessary.
HomeCorporateAbour alproWork at alproBlue sky
The plant & the foodThe plant & the food
Health benefitsHealth benefits
Soya in a healthy dietSoya in a healthy diet
Nutritional benefitsNutritional benefits
Health benefits Home

Renal effects

Renal disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Western countries. Dietary changes are fundamental to the management of a large number of chronic nephropaties. 1

It has to be very clear that the understanding of the health effects of soyafoods in patients with renal disease is still in its infancy.
However, integrated analysis of the current knowledge about the nutritional properties of this food, the metabolic derangement and dietary requirements of patients with kidney disease, and the handful of studies that have specifically addressed the issue of soyafoods utilization in renal disease, encourages optimism about the potential beneficial effects of soyafoods in renal patients.

Studies in healthy subjects and in diabetic patients suffering from renal disease, or at risk from it, have shown that soyabean protein-based diets are associated with functional reduction of the glomerular filtration rate, an indicator of glomerular capillary pressure (see Figure 1) and with reduction of microalbuminuria or proteinuria.
These events are considered beneficial for long term preservation of renal function.

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) at baseline and after eight weeks of soya diet (full circles, continuous line), or control diet (open triangles, broken line) in twelve subjects with type 1 diabetes mellitus and renal hyperfiltration (GFR > 120 mL/min/1.73m2).    * indicates P <0.02, Soya Diet vs. Control Diet, two-way analysis of variance with Scheffe post hoc analysis 4.

The mechanism(s) by which dietary soya exerts these effects are still unclear. It has been suggested that it relates to :

  1. The relatively low content of certain amino acids that are biologically active in the kidney
  2. The specific sequence of certain digestion peptides that can diffuse from the gut lumen into the portal circulation and seem capable of affecting hepatic function and, indirectly, the renal hemodynamics
  3. Certain micronutrients that are unique to soya such, as the isoflavones. 

Kidney dialysis patients run a higher risk of vaso-constriction and increased blood lipid levels. It was shown that soya consumption has a favourable effect on the blood lipid levels of these patients.  The researchers checked various parameters: total cholesterol levels, HDL cholesterol levels and LDL cholesterol levels and apoliprotein B levels. The study established the following results for kidney dialysis patients with high cholesterol levels who consumed 30 g of soya in their daily diet after 12 weeks: a significant decrease of total plasma cholesterol levels, LDL cholesterol and apoB concentrations and a significant increase of HDL cholesterol. No differences were found in the group that consumed milk protein. The researchers also established favourable effects of soya consumption on blood lipid levels in patients with normal blood lipid levels. 5

Fanti et al (4) found in end-stage renal disease patients on chronic haemodialysis that isoflavone-rich soyfoods have beneficial effects on the inflammatory and nutritional status

References :

  1. Kopple JD, Massry SG: Nutritional management of renal disease, in, 2nd ed, Philadelphia, PA, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2004, p 682
  2. Stephenson TJ, Setchell KD, Kendall CW, Jenkins DJ, Anderson JW, Fanti P. Effect of soy protein-rich diet on renal function in young adults with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Clin Nephrol 2005;64:1-11
  3. Teixeira SR, Tappenden KA, Carson L, Jones R, Prabhudesai M, Marshall WP, Erdman JW, Jr.: Isolated soy protein consumption reduces urinary albumin excretion and improves the serum lipid profile in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus and nephropathy. J Nutr 134:1874-1880, 2004
  4. Fanti P, Asmis R, Stephenson TJ, Sawaya BP, Franke AA. Positive effect of dietary soy in ESRD patients with systemic inflammation--correlation between blood levels of the soy isoflavones and the acute-phase reactants. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2006;21:2239-46.
  5. Chen et al. Variable Effects of soy protein on plasma lipids in hyperlipidemic and normolipidemic hemodialysis patients. American Journal of Kidney Diseases , 2005 : 46(6) : 1099-1106