Plant-forward diets in health care: A prescription for patients and the planet: This article discussed the role of plant-based diets in preventing common causes of kidney disease, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension and obesity, along with reducing the progression and complications of kidney disease. Given that high-protein diets with high meat intake can contribute to increased incidence of chronic kidney disease and faster disease progression, Dr. Joshi encourages patients to follow a
plant-dominant low-protein (PLADO) diet to treat and prevent kidney disease. He explained that following a plant-rich diet not only yields health benefits, but can also help mitigate climate change as emissions from plant-based products are
10-50 times lower than animal-based products. He went on to discuss how renal care contributes to health care's climate footprint, citing this
study finding that dialysis is resource intensive with emissions per dialysis treatment equivalent to driving an average car for 149 miles.