There is increasing evidence that an elevated level of phosphate in the blood not only promotes calcification of blood vessels and bodily organs but also upsets a complex hormonal system involved in regulation of phosphate in the body.
Prof Dr Eberhard Ritz, of the Heidelberg Kidney Centre, and co-authors review the research on phosphate additives and elevated phosphate levels in blood (hyperphosphatemia) in an article inDeutsches Ärzteblatt International.
It has long been known that patients with renal disease are at risk of higher cardiovascular related mortality and overall mortality due to elevated phosphate levels. Large-scale epidemiological studies have now shown that phosphate additives may also harm people with normal kidney function. One study has even shown an association with hardening of blood vessels in young healthy men.
Phosphate added to animal fodder is known to accelerate age-related organ complications in animals, such as muscle and skin atrophy, the progression of chronic renal failure, and cardiovascular calcifications. It is now thought that phosphate added to human food has similar effects.
It has only recently been discovered that the body uses a complex system to control phosphate levels in the blood and excretion by the kidneys — in fact there are two hormone systems to prevent phosphate accumulation. Studies with mice where this system has been damaged resulted in premature aging, with vascular calcification, osteoporosis, skin atrophy, pulmonary emphysema, infertility, and early death.
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