In the United States, roughly 1.3 million people die from kidney disease each year. According to the CDC it is the 9th leading cause of death.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, when you have chronic kidney disease (CKD), your kidneys can’t remove phosphorus very well. Extra phosphorus causes body changes that pull calcium out of your bones, making them weak. High phosphorus can also combine with calcium, leading to dangerous deposits in the blood vessels, lungs, eyes, and heart. Over time this can cause an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, or death. Aside from these dangerous effects, studies have also shown that high phosphorus levels may directly harm the kidneys and cause a loss of kidney function. This loss of function increases the risk for kidney failure.
It is literally a matter of life and death for kidney patients to keep their phosphorus levels low. But here is the clincher, our food labels are not required to tell us how much phosphorus in what we eat. It is simply a guessing game. This guessing game can have fatal consequences. I should know, despite our best calculations, I lost my husband last June due to phosphorus overload. Adding one simple mineral to our food labels will save lives. Let’s stop gambling with the lives of kidney patients