Mira Dressy is the Ingredient Guru and is a passionate proponet of Real Food. She's a nutritional educator and emphasizes the importance of a healthy lifestyle through Whole Foods.
She addressed the confusing debate over TSP, what it is, and why the CDC says it's hazardous to our health but the FDA approves its use in many of our foods...
Mira explains it much better than I could... here's a little excerpt of her findings:
"Trisodium phospate (TSP) is an industrial cleaning product used as a degreasing agent, mildew remover and lead abating agent and to clean interior and exterior walls before painting.
Because of its alkalinizing cleaning properties, TSP was used in dishwashing soap and laundry detergent until it was phased out in 2011 after the EPA found it was harmful to the environment. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) also recommends to "Avoid All Contact." The CDC lists these TSP ingestion symptoms: abdominal pain, burning sensation, shock, or collapse.
If the EPA says TSP is hazardous to the environment and the CDC tells us to avoid all contact, why does the FDA allow it in our food and personal care products?
So, why is TSP used in our food?
TSP is most commonly used to reduce the acidic nature of foods, especially breakfast cereals, as it modifies cereal color and aids in the cereal's flow through the extruder.
TSP's other uses include:
* Added to meat to retain moisture during storage and cooking
* Acts as a leavening agent to "fluff up" foods like cakes, breads and baked goods.
* Added to cheese to help keep its shape and melting properties
* Used as an antimicrobial cleaner for washing produce. Poultry is dipped in a TSP solution to potentially kill off bacteria.
Why should we avoid food with TSP?
Studies have shown that ingesting high levels of phosphate (the major mineral in TSP) can cause kidney damage, soft tissue calcification and removal of calcium from bones. Chronic high levels of phosphate intake can result in osteopenia and ultimately osteoporosis. TSP also irritates the stomach and intestinal lining as well as reduces lactic acid in muscles.
The FDA has approved 70 mg/kg of body weight as the maximm tolerable limit of TSP that a person should ingest per day. For a 150 lb person, this translates to 4,772 mg/day.
With TSP in all of these foods, we have no idea if we're ingesting more than the maximum tolerable limit. So just to be safe, stay away from all foods containing TSP."
Mira makes a logical case for avoiding foods with TSP, but in my research I found many conflicting points of view, including this from Snopes.com:
"At the amounts found in food, both TSP and sodium bicarbonate are perfectly safe, as the FDA concludes: None of the approved sodium phosphate additives are intrinsically harmful and their use in foods does not present a hazard when the total amount of phosphorus ingested and the intakes of calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, and other nutrients are satisfactory. The current use of calcium phosphates in food processing is without harmful effects on the health of consumers and, in some instances, may be advantageous."
So, who to believe???
Then I found an article published by Jenny Ruhl that resonated with me... her clear explanations and the backing of many studies just helped me make up my mind... Her article is lengthy and long but so good. Go here to read it in its entirety. But for a glimpse at her findings:
"Phospate Additives Promote Hardening of the Arteries.
There is a disturbing link between blood phosphate levels and heart disease. Many people eating low carb diets have a unique exposure to phosphates because they are added to so many of the meats you buy at the grocery store and order in restaurants.
Inorganic phosphates are 100% bioavailable. That means if you eat 500 mg of calcium phosphate, disodium phosphate {or trisodium phosphate} that is added to processed foods or supplements, the whole 500 mg will be absorbed. When it is, it will go into your bloodstream where it will raise your serum phosphate level.
We know from several well-conducted studies that there is a direct link between serium phosphate level and heart disease. As a recently published review article explains, 'Higher serum phosphate levels were independently associated with coronary artery calcification, vascular stiffness, left ventricular hypertrophy and carotid artery disease.'
An interesting side note to the issue of high serum phosphate is the finding that rising serum phosphates will lower vitamin D production. If you have abnormally low vitamin D levels when not supplementing vitamin D, this could be pointing to the fact that your serum phosphate level is unhealthily high."
That was enough information for me. In choosing a Whole-Food, Plant-Based diet, I will be avoiding TSP in my diet. It is one more reason to love the transition to eating real food... I have come to believe that while the levels of TSP may not be alarming according to the FDA, I can make the choice to avoid even the chance that they might be...
Eating to Live takes on real-life challenges, and in this case helps me make wholesome changes that are backed by healthy principles.
For today, our homework is to start reading labels on everything that we put on our plate! Check to see how many items you eat each day that contain trisodium phosphate.
Practicing mindfulness with you, each and every day!
In Grace, Always,
Jane
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