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Enhanced Meats May Spell Trouble for Kidney Disease
Patients
Reported July 27, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Uncooked "enhanced" meat products may contain
high levels of phosphorous and potassium that are not listed on food labels,
making it difficult for kidney disease patients to limit harmful dietary
intake of these additives. Patients on dialysis are at risk of premature
sudden death should their blood phosphate or blood potassium levels become
too high.
"Enhanced" fresh meat and poultry products are an increasingly common source
of dietary phosphorous and potassium. These foods are injected with a
solution of water with sodium and potassium salts (particularly phosphates)
as well as antioxidants and flavorings. While ingesting phosphates and
potassium can be deadly for dialysis patients, there is no requirement that
these ingredients be included on nutrition labels. There also have been no
studies on the levels of phosphates and potassium contained in fresh meat
and poultry products that have been enhanced.
Richard Sherman, MD, and Ojas Mehta, DO, University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, examined the
potassium and phosphate content in a variety of enhanced and additive-free
meat and poultry products available in local supermarkets. They found
products labeled "enhanced" had an average phosphate concentration that was
28 percent higher than those "labeled additive-free," with some products
almost 100 percent higher.
Although most foods with phosphate and potassium additives reported the
additives on the labels, eight of the 25 enhanced products included in the
study did not list the additives. The authors wrote, "The burden imposed on
those seeking to limit dietary phosphorus and potassium could be ameliorated
by more complete food labeling by manufacturers."
SOURCE: Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN), July
23, 2009 |
