Is Sodium Aluminum Phosphate Bad For You?
Short answer
Sodium aluminum phosphate is probably safe. There’s a tiny amount in most foods - too little to hurt you - although you should be careful with aluminum if you have a kidney problem.
More harmful than beneficial. Side effects are common, especially when consumed/done excessively. Moderation is very important.
View Full Grading System
Category 'A'
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Side effects are rare. Things rated an 'A+' are typically necessary for survival (for example, water).
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. A few harmful qualities may be associated, but only under certain circumstances such as an allergic reaction.
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Harmful qualities may be associated, but aren't usually serious.
It is important to note that even the best things in life can become bad in immoderate amounts. So, although something may be rated an 'A+', overconsumption/overdoing can bring unwanted effects.
Category 'B'
Very beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B+' may have a few harmful qualities to pay attention to.
Overall beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B' may have some harmful qualities to pay attention to.
More beneficial to your health than not. However, harmful qualities are most likely associated and shouldn't be overlooked.
The main difference between category 'A' and category 'B' is the harmful qualities typically present in 'B' items. Serious side effects are usually uncommon, but are still possible and should be taken note of.
Category 'C'
Both beneficial and harmful qualities associated. Things rated a 'C+' are typically a bit more on the beneficial side. Still, moderation is important.
A fairly even ratio of beneficial and harmful qualities. Moderation is important. Very general topics that can lean towards both sides of the spectrum will be placed here as well. Rice, for example, can be good or bad depending on the type.
More harmful than beneficial. Side effects are common, especially when consumed/done excessively. Moderation is very important.
Category 'C' usually denotes to both good and bad qualities. When it comes to this category, it is important to keep this word in mind: moderation.
Category 'D'
Harmful to your health. Although benefits may be associated, the bad most likely outweighs the good. Moderation is very important.
Harmful to your health. A few benefits may be associated, but the bad outweighs the good. Moderation is extremely important.
Harmful to your health. Very few, if any, benefits are present. Things in this category should be avoided as much as possible.
Category 'D' is typically for things that are more harmful than beneficial. While consuming/doing something unhealthy once in a blue moon shouldn't hurt, we definitely recommend eliminating 'D' items as a regular part of your routine/diet.
Category 'F'
Category 'F' is for things that fail to bring anything beneficial to the table, and are very harmful to your health. We recommend completely avoiding anything in this category. Long-term side effects of 'F' items are usually very serious.
Category 'N'
'N' stands for neutral. Things placed into this category are generally (a) neither good nor bad for you, or (b) lack the necessary evidence to reach any conclusions.
Long answer
Sodium aluminum phosphate (SAP) is a food additive that’s used as a leavening agent. Put a little SAP in your bread dough and subject it to heat, and it’ll help the yeast to make carbon dioxide. The dough will bubble and rise.
Sodium aluminum phosphate is regarded as safe by the Food and Drug Administration, the European Food Safety Authority, the UK’s Food Standard’s Agency, and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Office. All have set limits for the amount of SAP that can be safely used as food additive - usually somewhere between 1 and 2 milligrams per kilogram of body weight in your overall weekly diet. The European Union also restricts the use of SAP as a leavening agent to certain kinds of sponge cakes.
Why restrict the use of sodium aluminum phosphate? Because it’s a chemical that has aluminum in it. Aluminum is one of the most common elements on earth. The crust of our planet has more aluminum than any other metal, and there’s aluminum in the water we drink, the food we eat, the medications we take, and a whole range of man-made things that we interact with on a daily basis.
Most of the aluminum that we consume passes right back out the other end without being absorbed by our body. Small amounts are taken up by our digestive system and end up in the body. Our kidneys work to filter this aluminum back out. Get too much aluminum into your system without a healthy pair of kidneys, however, and you might run into problems.
What kind of problems? Anemia, bone problems, and constipation, at lower levels. Higher amounts can cause chronic aluminum toxicity and do damage to the brain - you might suffer from memory loss or dementia. A healthy adult isn’t going to get aluminum toxicity from eating too many sponge cakes leavened with sodium aluminum phosphate. If you have kidney problems, however, you might be at risk - consult with a medical professional about how to manage levels of aluminum in your diet.
Possible long-term side effects
- anemia
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bone problems
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constipation
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chronic aluminum toxicity (with extremely high doses)
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brain damage (with extremely high doses)
Ingredients to be aware of
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