The more you eat, the older you get? ! Beware of aging foods that cause kidney disease

We often say, "Eat to be healthy," but doctors remind us that if we eat the wrong foods, we may end up getting older! In particular, it should be noted that if processed foods contain too high phosphorus ions, it may lead to premature aging and aggravate kidney disease and complications. In severe patients, it may even increase cardiovascular mortality.

Dr. Zheng Zhongyi pointed out that many processed foods or beverages contain phosphorus, which can easily cause kidney disease.

Dr. Zheng Zhongyi, a nephrologist at Wan Fang Hospital, pointed out that many processed foods or beverages contain phosphorus that the general public is not aware of, but the body may absorb up to 100%. It not only causes premature cellular and organ aging, and even vascular calcification, but also can be fatal in cases where a person already has kidney disease.

Dr. Zheng Zhongyi pointed out that the kidney is the main organ in the body that regulates the balance of phosphorus ions. If too much phosphorus-containing substances are ingested, it will cause kidney failure and be unable to bear the load, causing the accumulation of phosphorus ions in the patient's body. If patients with chronic renal failure absorb too much phosphorus ions, high blood phosphorus may easily cause complications such as vascular calcification, arrhythmia, chronic kidney disease mineral bone disease, and severe patients may even be prone to increased cardiovascular mortality.

Chronic kidney disease patients have symptoms very similar to those of the elderly, including skin atrophy (wrinkles), osteoporosis, abnormal brain cognition, abnormal sex hormone secretion, etc. In the field of molecular cell research, the expression pattern of the anti-aging factor (klotho) in chronic renal failure patients and the elderly is not only similar, but also decreases with the deterioration of kidney function and aging. Therefore, scientists generally believe that kidney disease is a disease that accelerates aging, or that aging is also a cause of kidney disease.

Since phosphorus ions accumulate in the bodies of kidney patients, phosphorus ions are the main factor causing vascular calcification and organ aging. The Wan Fang Hospital Nephrology Research Team conducted in-depth research on the relationship between aging, phosphorus ions and chronic kidney disease. From the research results, it was learned that high blood phosphorus will lead to organ and blood vessel aging, and aggravate the deterioration of kidney lesions in patients with existing kidney disease. As for the general healthy population, the research also preliminarily found that a high-phosphorus diet does indeed lead to signs of early renal insufficiency and organ aging.

According to statistics, the incidence and prevalence of chronic kidney disease in Taiwan have surpassed Japan and the United States to become the highest in the world. Preventing the occurrence of chronic kidney disease and treating its related complications should be the top priority at present. It is worth noting that the main cause of death in patients with common kidney diseases is not kidney failure itself, but rather diseases similar to those associated with aging, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and infections. At the same time, chronic kidney disease is more prevalent in the elderly population.

Dr. Cheng Chung-yi urges the general public to be cautious when choosing foods and beverages with high phosphorus content for long-term consumption, so as to slow down the early aging caused by phosphorus and the aggravation of kidney disease and complications. In addition, kidney patients should be reminded to strictly control the intake of phosphorus-containing foods in their diet. If necessary, they can take phosphorus binders with meals under the doctor's instructions to slow down the absorption of phosphorus in the gastrointestinal tract.