High animal protein intake can have a profound influence on normal human kidney function by inducing a state called hyperfiltration, a dramatic increase in the workload of the kidney. Hyperfiltration isn’t harmful if it occurs only occasionally. We all have built-in reserve kidney function—so much so that people can live with only one kidney. The human body is thought to have evolved the capacity to handle intermittent large doses of protein from our remote hunting and scavenging days. But now many of us are ingesting large doses of animal protein day after day, forcing our kidneys to call on
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