Higher protein, about 1.6 g/kg
Raise protein, mainly from legumes, dairy and fish. Helps keep weight off; creatinine can rise without harming the kidney.
Order of magnitude
About 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
The blood-pressure and lipid effects are real but small, and the glycaemic effect is absent: in people with type 2 diabetes a high-protein diet did not change HbA1c at all.
Effects in detail
Each row is a directed edge from our database, with range, latency, evidence grade and the condition under which it applies at all.
| Marker | Effect | Latency | Mode of action | Outcome | Evidence | Condition | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apolipoprotein B | helps. Lowers -0.10 mmol/L confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect High-protein diets lowered LDL-C by 0.10 mmol/L (95 % CI -0.18 to -0.02) and total cholesterol by 0.21 mmol/L (-0.31 to -0.12) in people with type 2 diabetes. marker_proxy is ldl_c; apolipoprotein B was not measured. Trial proxy: ldl_c. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| Diastolic blood pressure | helps. Lowers -1.08 mmHg confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect One hundred randomised trials give higher-protein diets a systolic reduction of 1.51 mmHg (95 % CI -2.77 to -0.25) and a diastolic reduction of 1.08 mmHg, together with improved flow-mediated dilation. Small but from a very large evidence base. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| Systolic blood pressure | helps. Lowers -1.51 mmHg confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect One hundred randomised trials give higher-protein diets a systolic reduction of 1.51 mmHg (95 % CI -2.77 to -0.25) and a diastolic reduction of 1.08 mmHg, together with improved flow-mediated dilation. Small but from a very large evidence base. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| HOMA-IR | helps. Lowers -0.27 HOMA-IR units only the lower confidence bound was retrievable; the stored upper bound is the point estimate itself, not an interval bound (gaps_batch2.md G-QC2) HOMA-IR fell by 0.27 in people with type 2 diabetes on a high-protein diet, with the lower bound of the interval at -0.47. The upper bound of the confidence interval was cut off in the abstract text retrieved and only the lower bound is recorded, so effect_abs_max is the point estimate rather than a true interval bound (gaps_batch2.md G-QC2). | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| Triglycerides | helps. Lowers -0.19 mmol/L confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect In 13 studies from 12 articles in 1138 people with type 2 diabetes, a high-protein diet lowered triglycerides by 0.19 mmol/L (95 % CI -0.33 to -0.05), total cholesterol by 0.21 and LDL-C by 0.10. Studied in type 2 diabetes. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value |
What this measure costs
Counteracting effects of the same measure.
No counteracting effect is on file for this measure. That does not mean there is none, only that we found no defensible edge.
Moves without implying progress
Informational or no established effect: the marker moves or was checked, and that is not progress.
| Marker | Effect | Latency | Mode of action | Outcome | Evidence | Condition | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creatinine | checked, nothing happens. No established effect Across 28 randomised trials in 1358 adults without kidney disease, the change in glomerular filtration rate did not differ between higher-protein and normal- or lower-protein diets (standardised mean difference 0.11, 95 % CI -0.05 to 0.27). This row replaces the unsourced claim removed after the checkpoint-1 audit. Trial proxy: egfr. Trial proxy: egfr. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| HbA1c | checked, nothing happens. No established effect Thirteen randomised trials in 1138 people with type 2 diabetes found no HbA1c difference between higher-protein and control diets (-0.05 percentage points, 95 % CI -0.18 to +0.08) and no fasting glucose difference, although insulin resistance improved. A clean no-effect row from an adequately powered meta-analysis. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| HDL cholesterol | checked, nothing happens. No established effect HDL-cholesterol rose by 0.03 mmol/L, which was not significant. A deliberate no-effect row. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value |
Sources
Full details of every study the rows above rely on.
Changes in Kidney Function Do Not Differ between Healthy Adults Consuming Higher- Compared with Lower- or Normal-Protein Diets: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Devries et al. · The Journal of Nutrition · 2018 · Meta-analysis
Impact of Quantity and Type of Dietary Protein on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Using Standard and Network Meta-analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials
Yao et al. · Nutrition Reviews · 2025 · Meta-analysis
Effects of high-protein diet on glycemic control, insulin resistance and blood pressure in type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Yu et al. · Clinical Nutrition · 2020 · Meta-analysis