Foods/Additives High in Phosphate

Hafer's book contains several pages of detailed lists of the foods which are high in phosphate and which individuals sensitive to it should avoid. The book also provides details of a four-day diet test to help you get started. Additionally, the recipe-pages on this website have an introduction to the Hafer-diet, 5 good reasons for switching to a low-phosphate diet and a collection of delicious and nutritious recipes to help you get started with the phosphate-reduced diet.

It is critical to understand that ninety per cent compliance with the diet will not necessarily result in ninety per cent improvement - it may result in NO IMPROVEMENT AT ALL. One hundred per cent compliance is needed, at least in the early stages.

In cases of high sensitivity to phosphate, even one hotdog or one can of soda drink may trigger a major relapse (see the Ursula Klemm report in Supportive Evidence).

It is also critical to understand that Hafer's diet is not a quick-fix, nor does it remove the underlying sensitivity to phosphate. It may take some weeks or even months before the full benefit of the diet is experienced. Consuming problematical foods is always likely to result in a reaction and this will remain true lifelong in many cases. The ultimate solution will be to convince governments to legislate to ban phosphate additives from our foods but this will not be quickly or easily achieved.

If in doubt about phosphate content in any food or drink, exclude it from your family's diet. Manufacturers or suppliers should be able to advise whether or not phosphate additives are present. Additionally, sugar, citric acid and alcohol interfere with the body's metabolism, often preventing the absorption of other essential minerals and triggering a response. Therefore they too need to be consumed in limited amounts. Foods to avoid because of high phosphate, sugar or citric acid content are:
Soft drinks, soda drinks, especially cola or coke and fizzy lemonade
Cordials/fruit syrup beverages
Chocolate, lollies, sweets, candy, and anything else with a high citric acid and sugar content
Ice-cream
Skim milk powder (often added to processed foods)
Biscuits, cookies, cakes from the supermarket
Tomato ketchup
Mayonnaise
Fish fingers
Processed cheese, especially soft cheese spread
Frozen pizzas
Hot dogs
Processed meats
Baking powder and self-raising flour often contains phosphate aerator
Avoid all foods that list as an ingredient mineral salts, emulsifiers and lecithin.
There are also natural foods which contain relatively high levels of phosphate. It is important to be aware of them and, depending on the level of phosphate-sensitivity, to consume them in small quantities. We recommend to eliminate all phosphate-rich foods from the diet for three to four weeks to see if there is an improvement in health. Then the foods below can be re-introduced into the diet, one at a time. Some of these foods may be tolerated by a sensitive person, providing they are consumed in small quantities.
They include:
Egg yolks
Milk
Nuts
Wheat germ
Soybeans and their by-products
Peas
Beans
Lentils
Corn
Mushrooms
Oats
Cocoa beans (chocolate)
Sweet breads - liver, brains, kidneys
These should be eliminated from the diet of affected families. Once affected family members have been on the diet for some weeks with the result that saliva pH has normalized and behaviour is no longer problematical, it may be possible to reintroduce some of them - one at a time - in small quantities. So long as saliva pH remains in the normal range and there is no recurrence of ADD symptoms, there should be no problem. Precisely what intake of phosphate triggers problems is almost certainly an individual matter, to be determined by careful trial and error.
Many additives contain suspect ingredients. Below are lists of additives that will help you to read food labels to determine whether they contain suspect ingredients.

In Europe and Australia, these are generally listed by number - List A.
In the US they are generally listed by name - List B.

We recommend that you print off the list for your country and stick it onto your fridge, or elsewhere in your kitchen. Foods which contain any of the ingredients listed below should be regarded as suspect.

To help you understand the importance of switching to a low-phosphate diet, please read "Introducing a low-phosphate diet" half-way down the recipe page.


PhosADD Australia email: mail@phosadd.com
ABN: 64021647394 www.phosadd.com