Processed foods spur kidney disease: study

The Monash University study found some chemical compounds in processed foods prompt "leaky gut syndrome" in which the intestinal lining becomes more porous, triggering inflammation and poor gut health.

This ultimately increases the odds of developing chronic kidney disease.

These chemical compounds, known as Advanced Glycation End Products add flavour to food and increase their sensory effect.

Chips, bread, bakery products, chocolate and confectionery contain AGEs.

However the study, published in Science Advances, also found the body's inflammatory response could be "switched off" by consuming foods with high resistant starch fibre such as oats, rice, legumes and potatoes.

These foods help gut bacteria ferment anti-inflammatory metabolites.

Associate Professor Melinda Coughlan said in a statement on Thursday that about 10 per cent of the world's population is affected by kidney disease.

Processed foods not only increased the likelihood of kidney disease but also diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cancer and stomach diseases.

"We can look to make alternative food formulations or functional foods aimed at dampening the body's (inflammatory) response," Prof Coughlan said.

"Given the increasing interest in the effects of processed food on health, we believe that these findings represent an important step towards understanding and countering the detrimental features of the modern diet."

Monash will this year conduct a clinical trial in which people with early diabetic kidney disease are given foods with high resistant starch fibre.

Australian Associated Press