PKD Life - Fall 2020 - 7

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foods such as meat and dairy
products, and it's also found
in many packaged foods.
"Manufacturers frequently
use phosphorus additives as
preservatives or to add flavor
to a product, and these are
very readily absorbed in the
body," Pavlick says.
To complicate matters,
you usually won't find the
amount of phosphorus a food
contains on the nutrition
label because companies
aren't required to include it.
As a result, you may end up
buying items that are higher
in phosphorus than you realize, unless you carefully read
ingredients and avoid food
to which phosphorus was
added. Such added phosphorus is nearly fully absorbed
when ingested, unlike a naturally occurring phosphorus in
the plant-derived food that is
absorbed only partially.

Once your nephrologist tells
you to start limiting your
phosphorus intake, he or she
might refer you to a registered dietitian if you're not
seeing one already. Because
the mineral is found in so
many foods, a professional
can help you find alternatives to foods that are high in
phosphorus and still maintain a balanced diet.
"Usually you'll start by cutting back on processed foods
because phosphorus additives don't provide any nutritional value," Pavlick says. A
dietitian will also show you
how to identify those additives on food labels (anything
with "phos" in its name, such
as disodium phosphate and
phosphoric acid, is a giveaway). "It's actually good to
limit processed foods even
before an R.D. tells you to,
since recent studies indicate
that bone damage can happen even in the early stages
of chronic kidney disease,"
Pavlick adds.
If that doesn't help, you'll
then begin limiting naturally
occurring sources of phosphorus as well. But if dietary
changes aren't enough to
get your levels down,
don't panic. Your
nephrologist may
recommend you
take phosphate
binders, which
help control
the amount
of phosphorus your
body absorbs
from food.

Meatball and Veggie Soup

WAYS YOUR
DIETITIAN AND
DOCTOR CAN HELP

PKDLIFE RECIPE
This flavorful soup recipe comes from chef Paige
Vondran at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

SOUP INGREDIENTS:

4 medium/large carrots
4 celery stalks
1 medium onion
7 cups water
2 cups fresh spinach

MEATBALL
INGREDIENTS:

½ medium/large carrot
½ medium/large celery stalk
½ medium onion
8 ounces ground beef
1 egg
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Black pepper

For extra lean
meatballs, use
a combination
of ground
meat, such
as veal, pork,
and beef.

DIRECTIONS:

1 To begin making the soup, rinse and slice
the carrots, celery, and onion into small pieces.
In a large stockpot, combine water and sliced
vegetables. Bring the liquid to a rapid boil, then
lower to a simmer and cover.
2 While the soup broth simmers, start assembling the meatballs. Slice the carrot, celery,
and onion into medium-sized chunks, then
add to a food processor or blender and chop
until minced. In a large mixing bowl, combine
all meatball ingredients. Add dry seasonings to
taste; stir until thoroughly mixed.
3 Grease a large pan with nonstick cooking
spray, then heat until hot. Scoop meatball mixture using a spoon, forming bite-size rounds
(about 25 tablespoon-size meatballs). Brown
the meatballs in the hot pan, rotating on all
sides, until fully cooked throughout. Set meatballs aside.
4 Transfer about 2 to 3 cups of the vegetable
soup to the food processor or blender. Blend
the mixture into a puree consistency, then add
the puree back to the large pot. Add the fresh
spinach and meatballs, then serve hot.

Makes seven 1½-cup servings with 5
meatballs in each serving.
Nutrients per serving:
132 calories; 8 g protein; 8.5 g carbohydrates; 7.5 g fat; 99 mg potassium; 377 mg
phosphorus; 105 mg sodium.

TO L E A R N M O R E A B O U T N U T R I T I O N A N D P K D, V I S I T P K D C U R E .O R G / N U T R I T I O N

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9/28/20 12:32 PM

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PKD Life - Fall 2020

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