Phosphates in "Enhanced" Supermarket Meats

When we cut the carbs, a lot of use end up eating more meat. I have debunked quite a few poorly conducted studies that pretend to prove that eating meat raises mortality.

But a recent study raises an issue about meat that is important to people with diabetes.

Science Daily: Fresh Meats Often Contain Additives Harmful to Dialysis Patients

Supermarkets sell in the fresh meat department meats they label as "enhanced." These are meats that have been injected with solutions that are supposed to "enhance flavor" though of course, since they are mostly water, what they really do is enhance weight, allowing the supermarket to charge you more for the same piece of meat, since it has gained a couple ounces from being injected.

The study found that these enhanced meats contain levels of phosphate much higher than found in untreated meat. This can be extremely harmful to people on dialysis.

What the study did not mention is that phosphates can also be harmful to everyone else. Lifetime phosphate intake has been linked to the likelihood of developing kidney disease in everyone, not just people with diabetes.

I blogged about this a while ago here:

Coke Adds Death

and more recently here:

Avoid Phosphates and Preserve Your Kidneys

This research also points out that the labels on treated meat do not reveal the ingredients. My guess is that besides the phosphates, which were identified via lab analysis, these "enhanced" meats are also filled with MSG which, among other things, dysregulates appetite and contributes to weight gain.

Let your supermarket manager know that the store is selling a product that contains a dangerous chemical that could kill people on dialysis and which is NOT labeled to indicate this. Fear of lawsuits is a strong motivator for change. It's time that meat labels contained the same level of disclosure we find on other supermarket foods. Without disclosure we cannot know that what we are eating is not adulterated.

Avoid Phosphates and Preserve Your Kidneys

I first became aware of the relationship between phosphate consumption and kidney failure a few years ago when I read the study that linked the consumption of brown cola drinks containing phosporic acid--both diet and regular--to the likelihood of developing end stage renal disease. (Diabetes Update: Coke Adds Death).

Now there is more evidence accumulating that phosphates present elsewhere in the food supply might also be posing a threat to kidney health.

Science Daily: Hidden Phosphorus Food Additives Dangerous To Kidney Disease Patients

The researchers cited in the article above point out that the problem of overconsuming phosphorus is not limited to people on dialysis.

This should be an issue of concern to anyone with diabetes because so many of us have already suffered some damage to our kidneys from the years of undiagnosed high blood sugar that usually precede a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis. This early damage, which is usually revealed by a higher than normal result on the microalbumin urine test, can be reversed if we lower our blood sugars and keep them in the normal range.

But if we are at risk the last thing we need to be doing is further stressing our kidneys.

The Case Western Reserve University's Medical School, where this research on hidden phosphates was done, provides a web site that provides lists of the menu items sold at fast food chains that contain dangerous amounts of phosphates. You'll also find, at the bottom of the page links to relevant published peer-reviewed studies.

Fast Food, Phosphorus Containing Food Additives, and the Renal Diet

After reading this article, I realized that the baking powder I use to make low carb pancakes--the one many of us use because it does not contain aluminum compounds, contains phosphates.

Here's the solution I came up with to replace the baking powder: Combine 1 teaspoon lemon juice with half a teaspoon of baking soda. It worked fine.