Scientists Discover Phosphate-Rich Foods May Cause High Blood Pressure and Heart Disease

There may be some new foods you want to avoid if you're concerned about your heart health. Scientists have found that phosphate rich foods that include processed cheese, Parmesan, cola, baking powder and other processed foods may cause high blood pressure and heart disease.

Over 500 million people around the world suffer from chronic kidney disease, and these patients often develop cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure and vascular calcification. In order to look at this connection a bit more closely, researchers decided to examine the hormone FGF23, which is known to have a negative effect on the cardiovascular system.

In this case, the researchers found that FGF23 has a sodium conserving effect, which means that it controls the reabsorption of filtered sodium in the kidneys. More specifically, they found that when large phosphates are consumed, production of the FGF23 hormone is stimulated. Mice lacking FGF23 excrete higher amounts of sodium in their urine, resulting in low blood pressure. Those with higher amounts of FGF23, though, have higher levels of sodium in their blood and also have high blood pressure.

"In patients with chronic renal disease, both the phosphate levels and the levels of FGF23 are chronically high," said Reinhold Erben, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This often leads to cardiovascular disease."

The findings reveal that elevated levels of FGF23, which can be stimulated by phosphates, could impact heart health. This, in turn, shows that too many phosphates should be avoided whenever possible in order to avoid problems with your heart.

"The level of FGF23 in kidney patients can even indicate their life expectancy," said Olena Andrukhova, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The inhibition of FGF23 or its pathway could be a possibility to bring cardiovascular disease and vascular calcification under control."

The findings are published in two journals, EMBO Molecular Medicine and The EMBO Journal