A Low Phosphorus Diet: Vietnamese Cultural Foods

A Vietnamese diet is rich in many different kinds of foods. Materials such as bones and shells are very high in phosphorus. As well, processed meats generally have many additives. Many Vietnamese people have these foods regularly.

Seafood is a major culprit food. However, not all seafood is created equally.

Food such as codfish or canned tuna tend to be lower in phosphorus. Catfish is about a medium phosphorus food depending on the amount eaten. The largest culprits are probably:

• Crab

• Mussels (these filter phosphorus in water)

• Clams

• Shrimp

• Sardines

• Anchovies

• Squid

• Fish/shrimp powders are probably the largest culprit as they are more condensed than foods with higher water content.

Other foods that are high don’t tend to follow a clear pattern. For example, some nuts are high while others are low. These are some notable foods:

• Fermented soybean paste

• Pork floss

• Sweetened condensed milk

• Meat with bones (the phosphorus leeches into the meat)

• Soups with bones (the phosphorus leeches into the soup)

• Deli meats

There are some foods that I try to coach people to include into their diet as they have many other health benefits. It depends on you as an individual on whether these foods are right for you to include. If you are on phosphorus binders, your phosphorus levels from foods may not be able to build-up in your blood as much. If phosphorus is from a plant-based source, it is less easily absorbed into the blood because it’s probably grabbing onto something else.

Here are some possible foods:

• Tofu - this is lower phosphorus per gram of protein than other foods

• Mung beans - these are some of the lower phosphorus beans

• Red beans - these are high phosphorus so use very little. You may also want to boil and drain to remove about 10-20% of the phosphorus content before eating

• Egg yolks - have only small portions of egg yolks and focus on the whites

Here are some examples of dish modifications:

• In beef soup, use the meat as the broth rather than the bones

• Use lots of herbs and spices as other ingredients in the broth

• Focus on sour and spicy tastes for other safe flavours