People are maxing out their protein intake, and while it's an essential macronutrient for a healthy diet, there can be risks tied to the wellness trend.
ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Tara Narula said it's important to understand how one' diet interacts with kidney function.
"The kidneys are sort of the main filter of our blood. They produce waste, which is our urine," Narula said. "Depending on how many chemicals or what type are in the urine and how hydrated or dehydrated you are -- in addition to maybe your lifestyle, your diet, your genetics and medical conditions -- you may be set up for producing kidney stones."
Narula said one type of kidney stone, uric acid stones, is derived from purine, which is "a breakdown product of animal protein." Kidney stones affect one in 10 Americans.
"So if you eat a diet that is a carnivore diet -- very high in beef, chicken, poultry or seafood -- you're going to potentially break that down into uric acid, which, under the right conditions, can crystallize and form stones," Narula said.
Symptoms of kidney stones include severe pain on one side of the body, fever, chills, nausea and obstruction of the kidney.
The American Heart Association recommends 0.8 g/kg per day for adults over 18, which is about .36 grams per pound of body weight. The new federal dietary guidelines had increased the recommendation to about .55 grams per pound.
"In terms of calories, the recommendation is 10% to 35% of your daily calories come from protein," according to the AHA.
"So for 150 pound person, that's about 55 grams of protein," Narula noted.
If you have a normal plate of food that includes appropriate amounts of protein such as a piece of chicken or some Greek yogurt, Narula said that's not a potential concern.
"We're talking about levels that are really two to three times the recommended level of protein, where you're not really drinking water, you're not eating fruits or vegetables and getting other carbohydrates," Narula said. "About 200 grams of protein or more."
Narula said a diet "that's very, very heavy in animal proteins" can be risky. "What you can do is swap in some plant protein -- legumes, beans, nuts, tofu, soy -- so you're not just fully focused on animal protein."
