Lower phosphorus food choices.
Bonus new foods to try *Indian market - puffed Lotus seeds - healthy for us, like popcorn but a little more protein and a little chewier. Japanese market - gingko nuts.
In brief, meats and dairy are high phosphorus so while beans are a rich source too, they aren’t as high as animal protein. Nuts and seeds have more phosphorus than beans on average with some nut choices being lower than others. Seeds tend to be quite high in phosphorus.
I had been using higher phosphorus choices and switching to the lower content types may reduce my overly generous intake. Goal is 700 mg/day up to 1200 mg/day. My nutrient analysis of foods that I typically used at a past stage did have an excess, almost 2000 mg/day. So, I have been overdoing phosphorus for a while.
Skipping my topical Epsom salt soaks really adds to the muscle and joint pain - goal see if more frequently helps reverse the early calcinosis symptoms and growing number of bone spurs. Retinoid Toxicity adds to both problems and in browsing nutrient tables I looked at parsley, cilantro, other greens, romaine and green leaf lettuce - and they are all quite high, even in comparison to fresh peach. Carrots are higher.
The added total is what I need to watch out for. In reducing salicylate herbs, parsley is lower, so I got some fresh and was only adding a few sprigs to my salads - but the salad is also a source. I was starting to feel like chapped lips were on the way. My foraged greens would add carotenoids too. I may need to reduce my carotenoid intake more than what I have been doing to not have the fibromyalgia level of pain, if I hope to reverse the calcinosis and bone spur buildup before it reaches loss of function.
Retinoid toxicity directly causes changes in the way skin should be growing in a way that makes it not grow well at all - the chapped lips is different skin than normal skin and high friction areas like the corners of the lips can turn into open sores. The solution is to cut out vitamin A foods and then the skin returns to normal function and ability to repair and regrow itself.
The ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the diet is important, it needs to not be lower than the phosphorus intake for maintaining tooth and bone mineralization instead of promoting demineralization.
I didn’t really look at meat and dairy lists since I don’t use them and an early source I read said beans are lower than the animal foods which makes them helpful for kidney patients who have to watch phosphorus intake. Information about kidney illness in cats suggests that higher quality cuts of meat have less phosphorus than products processed with more gristle and brothy, longer cooking times that might break down more of the connective tissue (gristly bits).
Canned catfood is mostly gristly bits and high phosphorus. Preparing or using higher quality meat products made for humans is recommended to feed cats with kidney disease, and preventively, they need a wetfood diet as the dry kibble is dehydrating even for a healthy cat. As a carnivore they are not designed to eat dry food. See the comment by Phar Percheron (Aug 1).
Addition: niacin helps reduce phosphorus
https://www.plantpoweredkidneys.com/phosphorus-binders/#:~:text=Some%20%E2%80%9Cnatural%E2%80%9D%20binders%20that%20have,prescribed%20to%20help%20with%20phosphorus.
Beans, peas and lentils, and Extra Firm Tofu
Food in 1/2 cup cooked or 100 gr (~ 3 oz) cooked: Phosphorus; Calcium; Protein;
Black eyed peas: 42 mg P; 37 mg Ca++; 7 gr Protein; 46 mg Magnesium
Lima beans: 96 mg P; 34 mg Ca++; 6.7 gr Protein; 74 mg Magnesium
Split peas: 99 mg P; 14 mg Ca++; 8.34 gr Protein; 36 mg Magnesium
Large Lima beans: 111 mg P; 17 mg Ca++; 7.8 gr Protein; 43 mg Magnesium
Tofu, Extra Firm: 111 mg P; 28 mg Ca++; 9.98 gr Protein; 35 mg Magnesium
Black beans: 120 mg P; 27 mg Ca++; 7 gr Protein; 27 mg Magnesium *oxalate source
Pinto beans: 125 mg P; 63 mg Ca++; 7 gr Protein; 32 mg Magnesium
Navy beans: 131 mg P; 47 mg Ca++; 7-8 gr Protein; 47 mg Magnesium
Chickpeas: 137 mg P; 45 mg Ca++; 7 gr Protein; 26 mg Magnesium
White beans: 150-169 mg P; 73 mg Ca++; 8-9 gr Protein; 51 mg Magnesium
Red Lentils, (100 gr dried ~ 1 cup or more cooked): 294/2=147 mg P; 48/c=24 mg Ca++; 23.9/2=12 gr protein; 59/2 =29 mg Magnesium
Lentils (with peel): 178 mg P; 19 mg Ca++; 9 gr Protein; 36 mg Magnesium
Kidney beans: 178 mg P; 57 mg Ca++; 8 gr Protein; 27 mg Magnesium
Removing the seed coating or bean peel seems to reduce the phosphorus content and it increases the concentration of protein as fiber grams are removed too. Boiled and drained beans or nuts seem to have reduced phosphorus content too.
A 1/4 cup dried beans is roughly equivalent to 1/2 cup cooked and drained. One pound of dry beans will make about 10 1/4 cup→ 1/2 cup cooked bean servings. As a protein exchange on a diabetic diet, that would be equivalent to one egg or one ounce of meat. Extra firm tofu is a little more concentrated in protein than that.
More about beans post, and more about tofu post.
Nuts, seeds and a few gluten free flours.
Food in 100 gr (~ 3 oz) dry or as stated (divide by three o get a one ounce equivalent, which would match the hemp kernal entry): Phosphorus; Calcium; Protein;
Some entries* are from: Phosphorus in Nuts and Seeds, Lowest (tools.myfooddata.com)
Chestnuts, boiled*: 99 mg P; 46 mg Ca++; 2 gr Protein; 54 mg Magnesium; 19 gr carbohydrates
Gingko nuts*: an acquired taste, for which I couldn’t find nutrient content. Suburbanforagers - how to prepare gingko nuts article - good for brain and cardiovascular health. Eat no more than ten a day for an adult or five for a child as there is a negative chemical within them that binds vitamin B6. Used for asthma, respiratory, & urinary ailments. (nutrition-and-you.com)
Lotus Seeds*: 200 mg P; 52 mg Ca++; *also high in carbohydrates with a little protein too. Can be popped similar to popcorn except is chewier. About makhana (makhana.com) *commercial site but the health benefits have been studied.
https://www.nutrition-and-you.com/lotus-seeds.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7153031_The_Effect_of_Euryale_Ferox_Makhana_an_Herb_of_Aquatic_Origin_on_Myocardial_Ischemic_Reperfusion_Injury
Macadamia nuts: 208 mg P; 85 mg Ca++; 7.79 gr Protein; 130 mg Magnesium
Pecans: 253/277 mg P; 70 mg Ca++; 9.96 gr Protein; 103 mg Magnesium
Hazelnuts: 321 mg P; 135 mg Ca++; 13.5 gr Protein; 156 mg Magnesium
Chestnut flour: 134 mg P; 56 mg Ca++; 5.29 gr Protein; 68.8 mg Magnesium
Sorghum flour: 262 mg P; 12 mg Ca++; 8.43 gr Protein; 116 mg Magnesium
Chickpea flour: 318 mg P; 45 mg Ca++; 22.4 gr Protein; 166 mg Magnesium
Pistachio nuts: 500 mg P; 117 mg Ca++; 20.5 gr Protein; 110 mg Magnesium
Almonds: 503 mg P; 254 mg Ca++; 21.4 gr Protein; 258 mg Magnesium
Cashews: 532 mg P; 42 mg Ca++; 17.4 gr Protein; 251 mg Magnesium
Flax seeds: 556 mg P; 255 mg Ca++; 18.3 gr Protein; 392 mg Magnesium
Sesame seeds: 667 mg P; 60 mg Ca++; 20.4 gr Protein; 345 mg Magnesium
Sunflower seeds: 750 mg P; 70 mg Ca++; 19.3 gr Protein; 129 mg Magnesium
Pumpkin seeds: 1170 mg P; 52 mg Ca++; 29.8 gr Protein; 550 mg Magnesium
Hemp kernels (3 Tablespoons): 406 mg P; 16 mg Ca++; 10 gr Protein; 180 mg Magnesium
Pomegranate seeds (1/2 a fruit ~ 1/3 cup seeds): 51 mg P; 14.1 mg Ca++; 2.35 gr Protein; 16.9 mg Magnesium.
While almonds are higher phosphorus, they are also good sources of calcium and magnesium. Flax, sesame, and pumpkin seeds are also standouts as magnesium sources, although higher in phosphorus. Comparatively, the ratio of phosphorus, calcium and magnesium is more balanced in macadamia, pecans and hazelnuts. Pistachio ratios fall between the almonds and lower phosphorus nuts for having a reasonably good amount of calcium and magnesium.
Looking at the data with protein in mind, shows that beans do tend to provide more grams of protein in relation to grams of phosphorus than nuts or seeds.
Data from the USDA Food Search tables “FoodData Central Search Results” (fdc.nal.usda.gov) and elsewhere online with renal food lists for phosphorus content in foods - not all of those sites were 100% accurate compared to the USDA tables, and those can vary somewhat also. The goal for comparing foods for nutrient content is to select a matching or close to matching unit of measurement and similarly ‘dried’ or ‘cooked/drained’ or it won’t be equivalent to each other.
Gingko nuts are seasonal as a fresh food and may be found at a Japanese market. They have a strong bitter taste, that is one of those things that some people learn to adore and look forward to. Boil the raw shelled nuts for a few minutes (six minutes is what I did) and then drain and add to your food.
In the autumn feasibly you could forage for gingko nuts as the trees are grown in many areas as a beautiful ornamental tree - however there may be no nuts. The trees have to have a male and female to pollinate the seeds and the seeds have a strong unpleasant I have read, so as an ornamental planting only the male trees may have been planted. (Suburbanforagers)
Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.
Gingko nuts! The fruits are squishy, and do indeed stink!! They may not be as rare as you are thinking, I've stepped in plenty. And have seen at least one person collecting them.