Urea

• Urea is a toxic end product from protein metabolism. During digestion protein is broken down to amino acids and amino acids contain nitrogen, which is removed as NH4+ (ammonium ion). The ammonia is combined with other small molecules to produce urea in the liver. The urea is carried by the blood and heads for the kidney to be eliminated in the urine.
• A high-protein diet will generate more urea and that can expose the liver to more toxic from the nitrogenous residues while increasing the workload on the kidneys.
• The blood urea nitrogen (BUN) test is a measure of the amount of urea nitrogen in the blood, used primarily to evaluate renal function. A healthy reading is 7 to 20 mg/dl.
• The urine urea nitrogen (UUN) test is a measure of protein breakdown in the body. It is also used to assess the protein balance and the amount of dietary protein needed by severely ill patients.
• The ratio (U/P urea) between urine urea and plasma (blood) urea is an indicator of how efficient the kidneys are able to filter and excrete urea from the blood.

  Subscribe to my RSS feed for regular updates.