High Levels of Inorganic Phosphates in the Human Diet can Promote Lung Cancer

Still wondering why you should really be eating organic. Here is a recent study.

 

Korean scientists have found that elevated levels of inorganic phosphate in the diets of experimental animals significantly increase the risk of lung cancer.  Lung cancer kills more people globally than any other form of cancer.  

 Inorganic phosphates are added to most conventional processed foods to extend shelf life or stabilize products.  The researchers studied the incidence and progression of lung cancer in mice fed diets containing 0.5% and 1.0% phosphate, a range roughly comparable to levels in the human diet.  They warn that increasing levels of inorganic phosphates in the human diet could further increase the incidence and deaths caused by lung cancer.

Source:  Myung-Haing Cho et al., “High Dietary Phosphate Increases Lung Tumorigenesis and Alters Akt Signaling,” American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vol. 179, pp. 59-68, 2009.