Cooking methods may reduce phosphorus content in some foods

Dialysis patients have to control their phosphorus intake and phosphorus levels. The kidneys normally excrete excess phosphorus into the urine; however, kidney disease can prevent the body from getting rid of any buildup of phosphorus and that can cause problems for the bones and heart. And unfortunately hemodialysis removes only a small amount of phosphorus from the blood, hence the need for phosphorus binders while on dialysis. Recent research published in the Journal of Renal Nutrition suggests that boiling in water or stewing in oil can reduce the phosphorus content of some foods.

The results vary for different foods stuffs, this is not a universal panacea but it does help a lot with some foods. However the calcium levels increased when boiling in water when using hard water

Most of the thermal processing methods did not significantly reduce protein content. Boiling increased calcium content in all foodstuffs because of calcium absorption from the hard water. In contrast, stewing in oil containing a small amount of water decreased the calcium content of vegetables by 8% to 35% and of chicken meat by 12% to 40% on a dry weight basis. Some types of thermal processing significantly reduced the phosphorus content of the various foodstuffs, with levels decreasing by 27% to 43% for fresh and frozen vegetables, 10% to 49% for meat, 7% for pasta, and 22.8% for rice on a dry weight basis. On the basis of these results, we modified the thermal processing methods used to prepare a standard hospital menu for dialysis patients. Foodstuffs prepared according to the optimized menu were similar in protein content, higher in calcium, and significantly lower in phosphorus than foodstuffs prepared according to the standard menu.

If you examine the references section in the link to the journal article (above) you will find links to several other studies on how different cooking methods for your food can be of benefit to dialysis patients.

Study gives HIV-positive kidney transplants the thumbs up

Life is bad enough if you are HIV-positive, but what if you have kidney failure as well? What are your chances after a transplant? And can an HIV-positive donor help?

HIV-positive people with kidney failure who get a donated kidney from another person with HIV/AIDS fare as well as patients who get one from an uninfected donor, according to a South African study published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine. This is an important piece of research because it opens up a new group of desperately needed kidney donors for HIV/AIDS patients, who are especially vulnerable to renal failure, said the study’s lead author, Elmi Muller, who pioneered such "positive to positive" renal transplants in 2008. Especially since between a quarter and a fifth of HIV-positive patients who do not receive timely treatment get chronic kidney disease now have some hope.

The HIV-positive patients had comparable survival rates to patients who had received kidneys from donors who were HIV-negative. The survival rate among the patients was 84% after one year, 84% after three years, and 74% after five years. And remember, a kidney transplant can save more than one life, as the recipient frees up a dialysis machine for someone else.

For more details see here