Curb Red Meat Consumption to Prevent Kidney Failure

Ever been to The Big Texan in Amarillo, Texas.? If you're a meat lover, maybe you have. The restaurant serves one of the biggest steaks in the world. It's a whopping 72 ounces of grade-a premium beef. And it's served with a baked potato, shrimp cocktail, salad, and a dinner roll. That's a lot of red meat and food to pack away in under an hour. But if you can eat it all, it's on the house, and you earn a spot on The Big Texan Wall of Fame.

You're probably not going to munch your way through a 72-ounce steak anytime soon. But even eating red meat on regular basis could put your health at risk. In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, researchers found that eating a lot of red meat may raise your risk for kidney disease and failure by up to 40 percent

Eating too much red meat can be bad for you and may be one reason more than 20 million people in the United States suffer from some form of chronic kidney disease. And another reason an estimated 400,000 adults require dialysis to do the work failing kidneys can't.

So what should you eat instead? Start by substituting just one serving of red meat in your diet with something else like poultry, fish, eggs, legumes, low-fat dairy, or soy products. As you get used to eating less red meat, enjoy more of these healthier alternatives. Researchers found that people who ate these foods on a regular basis instead of red meat were far less likely to develop kidney failure. And in  some cases, researchers found that eating little to no red meat may provide protective health benefits.

The next time you plan a meal, choose a main dish other than red meat from our Dialysis-Friendly menu like Breaded Fish Wedge, Green Beans and Cauliflower, Turkey Meatloaf Rice Pilaf & Zucchini Saute, or Italian-Style Chicken Breast (Caponata) with Orzo & Spinach. These meals taste so good, you won't even notice red meat isn't the main course.