Death by Junk Food

A new study with mice shows that exposing them to a high phosphate junk food diet¹ causes them to die sooner. High phosphate promotes calcification of all the wrongs things, especially kidneys and arteries. Extra phosphate exposure comes from soda and many food additives used in processed foods. The prematurely aging mice had hypogonadism, infertility, uncoordinated movement, severe skeletal muscle wasting, emphysema, bone loss, skin atrophy, and intestinal atrophy.

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient in all living things and tends to be higher in protein-containing foods. It is in every cell of your body and is involved in cell signaling, energy metabolism, synthesis of nucleic acid synthesis, and pH buffering. However, too much phosphorus can be a real problem.

Mice fed the high phosphorus junk food diet ran into some real problems. And by using various types of mice the researchers were able to link the problems specifically to the dietary phosphorus of junk food.

“Humans need a healthy diet and keeping the balance of phosphate in the diet may be important for a healthy life and longevity,” said M. Shawkat Razzaque, M.D., Ph.D., from the Department of Medicine, Infection and Immunity at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. “Avoid phosphate toxicity and enjoy a healthy life.”

“Soda is the caffeine delivery vehicle of choice for millions of people worldwide, but comes with phosphorous as a passenger” said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal. “This research suggests that our phosphorous balance influences the aging process, so don’t tip it.”