Vegetarian Diet Useful In Kidney Problems

Author: Alexander Bruni Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

Vegetarian Diet Useful In Kidney Problems

Eating fruits and vegetables instead of meat helps to avoid phosphorus poisoning in people with kidney disease

People with chronic kidney disease share a common weakness - they are not able to adequately handle phosphorus in their bodies and it often reaches toxic levels.

Phosphorus is not only found in meat, but is also a common additive in many meat products. It is an important element for good dental and bone health, and phospholipids are a major structural component of almost all cell membranes. Its elevated levels, however, can have severe consequences for the human nervous system.

Even in mild forms or exacerbations of an underlying kidney condition, ingesting normal amounts of phosphorus with food can cause serious cardiovascular and neurological problems and even lead to a fatal outcome.

Even a few weeks of diet is enough to significantly reduce the toxicity of the mineral, as demonstrated in a recent study conducted by a team led by Dr. Sharon Moe of Indiana Medical University, USA.

The team studied the effect of different levels of dietary phosphorus in patients with kidney disease. Patients were hospitalized and on a strictly vegetarian diet for one week, and the following week were fed only high-quality meat products . This cycle was repeated several times, with blood samples taken from the volunteers at the end of each week.

Although both diets have similar protein and phosphorus concentrations, patients in the vegetarian diet had much less blood phosphorus and excreted much less of the mineral in their urine than in the meat-based diet, which clearly shows , how much more phosphorus do carnivores take.

Scientists are not convinced of the exact cause, but suggest that the cereal-vegetable diet causes a significantly more moderate attitude in the intake of phosphates to proteins, which greatly facilitates metabolism.

It is also important to note that in this diet most of the phosphates are in the form of phytic acid . Also called phytate , it is a high molecular weight compound containing phosphorus, which, however, is not absorbed by the human body. About 75% of the phosphorus in the vegetarian diet is locked in these molecules, but the remaining 25% is quite sufficient to meet the body's needs for the mineral without causing accumulation, intoxication and unwanted side effects.

Vegetarian Diet Useful In Kidney Problems

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