Protein is one of the most important components of the human body. In fact, after water, protein is the largest constituent of the body and accounts for 16.6% of the body by weight. Protein is so useful to us that it is considered the building blocks of the body. Everything in our body except for the skeletal system is a form of protein, and without protein we would not exist. It is because of this reason that the body recycles protein. When blood passes through the kidneys, the filtration system in them removes all the waste matter but leaves the constituents of blood, which include protein, behind.
Sometimes, however, the kidneys are not able to filter out only the waste matter and blood protein too is excreted. A certain amount of protein being excreted is unavoidable, and up to 150mg of protein being excreted is considered normal. But, in some cases, this can multiply quickly and result in too much protein being excreted from the body. This protein comes out in urine and is called proteinuria. There are a number of reasons for high protein in urine, but everything comes down to two underlying factors. There is either an underlying kidney disease that is causing this or it is a precursor to a kidney disease, and if left untreated, it will definitely result in kidney damage.
Proteinuria is a chronic illness and very rarely does it show any symptoms during the early stages. In fact, the only way to diagnose proteinuria is through a protein in urine test. This is the reason why diabetics and people who suffer from high blood pressure are recommended to take a test at least once a year to ensure that they are not developing proteinuria.
Some of the symptoms in the later stages are as follows:
Proteinuria in men is more common than in women simply because the incidence of diabetes is more in men than in women. High protein in urine of children is usually not very common. Proteinuria during pregnancy is uncommon and is called preeclampsia. This is a condition where hypertension arises during pregnancy causing high levels of protein in the blood. Preeclampsia is very dangerous, and there is no known treatment for it except delivery or abortion.
Since proteinuria is either a symptom or a precursor to kidney problems, there are very few natural remedies as such for the condition. Even modern medicine does not have much of a cure once kidneys get damaged, except for dialysis in very severe cases. Most natural remedies are restricted to preventing the cause of proteinuria. Thus, diabetic people should look at controlling their high blood sugar levels, while people with hypertension should look at controlling their blood pressure.
There are a number of home remedies for both these problems, and some of the things that can be done are listed below.
There are a number of other treatment options such as medication to control both blood pressure as well as blood glucose levels. However, diet control and lifestyle changes are recommended before the use of medication. Also, exercise is considered very important not only because it helps bring down blood sugar levels but also because it brings down the risk of other lifestyle-related illnesses such as coronary artery disease.