The bodybuilding lifestyle using anabolic steroids, growth hormone and high protein diet, over years, can apparently cause a variety of dreadful kidney diseases. By "complementary" in the title I assume the authors mean "using a combination of agents", in this case the typical stack just mentioned. This is not entirely new, as there is other literature on anabolic steroids causing kidney damage.
The full text of this article is available for free, and is worth reading for a variety of details. For example, they mention that hypertension had become evident in all subjects; that's certainly an easy early warning marker. They also mention that some of the subjects were in the habit of using NSAIDS -- bad news for the kidneys, and possibly synergistically harmful along with the other stuff.
There are some glaring inaccuracies. The only mention of testosterone dose is in relation to what they indicate is a typical therapeutic dose in hypogonadism of 250 mgs per three weeks; they say that some of their subjects were using 100 times this amount! (I doubt it! Perhaps 10 times, or 20.) Growth hormone doses were not mentioned. Protein quantity mentioned in the full text is clearly a typo: 30-50 grams/kg/day, an impossible amount. They must have added the zero in error, and meant 3-5 grams/kg/day (a high but imaginable protein intake for a bodybuilder). They mention that up to 2.8 grams/kg/day appears to be safe (reference is given).
Anyway, back to the main theme, which is that the kidney damage and disease resulting from the described programs is terrifying.
Many high level BBers die young from cardiovascular disease, kidney disease or cancer; these are the high-profile cases that you hear about; lists are often posted on the internet. It is likely however that many more do NOT die, but quietly develop end-stage renal disease at rather young ages (perhaps in 40s or 50s) and have to live out their lives going in for dialysis.
It is clear that anyone considering such a program would be insane: 1) to do it at all, probably; or 2) if electing to do it anyway, to fail to protect their kidneys with an array of renoprotective drugs and supplements, starting with ACE inhibitors or receptor blockers (ARBS) (harmless and beneficial drugs commonly used in hypertension), and continuing with a battery of protective nutrients such as taurine, fish oils, niacin/niacinamide, vitamin A, magnesium, and arginine, just to name a few of the main ones off the top. Also, shift at least partially from animal source to vegetable source proteins (less kidney stress), and increase potassium and keep sodium low. I should write an article about this, since I've been collecting literature on it for years.
Anyhoo, here's the article:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29657200
Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl. 2018 Mar-Apr;29(2):326-331. doi: 10.4103/1319-2442.229269.
Complementary bodybuilding: A potential risk for permanent kidney disease.
El-Reshaid W1, El-Reshaid K1, Al-Bader S2, Ramadan A2, Madda JP3.
Author information
1Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.2Department of Medicine, Al-Amiri Hospital, Kuwait City, Kuwait.3Department of Histopathology, Al-Amiri Hospital, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Abstract
We report our experience of renal disease associated with bodybuilders who had been on high-protein diet, anabolic androgenic steroids (AASs), and growth hormone (GH) for years. A total of 22 adult males who volunteered information about use of high protein diet and AAS or GH were seen over a six-year period with renal disease. Kidney biopsy revealed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in eight, nephroangiosclerosis in four, chronic interstitial nephritis in three, acute interstitial nephritis in two, nephrocalcinosis with chronic interstitial nephritis in two, and single patients with membranous glomerulopathy, crescentic glomerulopathy, and sclerosing glomerulonephritis. Patients with FSGS had a longer duration of exposure, late presentation, and worse prognosis. Those with interstitial disease had shorter exposure time and earlier presentation and had improved or stabilized after discontinuation of their practice. There is a need for health education for athletes and bodybuilders to inform them about the risks of renal disease involved with the use of high-protein diet, AAS, and GH.
PMID: 29657200 DOI: 10.4103/1319-2442.229269
Free full text
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For further context and examples:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4515889/
Clin Kidney J. 2015 Aug; 8 (4): 415419. doi: 10.1093/ckj/sfv032
Acute kidney injury associated with androgenic steroids and nutritional supplements in bodybuilders
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