Kidney Patients May Be Harmed By Meat Additives

Jamie Sheller

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Excessive amounts of phosphorous and potassium may be found in uncooked meats and poultry products enhanced with phosphate salts. According to a recent report in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, such meats with additives have an average of 28% higher phosphate-to-protein ratio, compared with meat without additives. Such phosphate amounts could affect kidney patients by making it hard for them to limit their dietary phosphorous and potassium intake. Dialysis patients have to be careful of hyperphosphatemia, and controlling phosphorous is very important. However, that control is made difficult because meat and poultry are not always labeled as being enhanced with phosphate salts. Such information is not required to be included on labels. Enhancing meat and poultry with phosphate salts may affect phosphate binding requirements, because phosphates not removed by dialysis must be removed by binders.