Health Breakthrough (This Time it's the Real Deal)

(Although the main focus is on stopping the war, I've had a major breakthrough realization regarding health.)

A common mistake lacto-vegetarians could be making is that they rely too much on dairy as a source of protein, which over time can cause their kidneys to be overtaxed.

When I was eating quite a bit of plain yogurt (often sweetened with stevia) and cheese, I would become very tired and have kidney pain in the morning.  I would take a few naps a day when not at work.  The reason for this is because my phosphorus intake nearly exceeded the maximum limit over a long duration.  It would probably not be detrimental to nearly exceed the maximum phosphorus limit for a short period of time, but when this is done over a long period of time, kidney damage can be the result.  (There is also the issue of yogurt having higher levels of potassium, which can also overtax the kidneys.)

Here is a diagram of phosphorus levels in various foods:

http://kitchen.kidneyfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Phosphorus_Guide_090419.pdf

Here is a diagram of organic phosphorus vs. inorganic phosphorus:

https://www.jrnjournal.org/article/S1051-2276(16)30044-9/pdf

There is a several-years-old file I lost on my hard drive that can no longer be found on the internet saying that the primary form of phosphorus in dairy is inorganic.  (This is not organic vs. inorganic food.  "Inorganic" is used in a different context.)  Perhaps the document was mistaken, or perhaps not.  A chemist would be able to answer this one.

Note that dairy substitutes are high in inorganic phosphorus from additives used as stabilizers, so most store-bought dairy substitutes are not kidney-friendly.  

Observation:

The less protein the dairy has, the lower it is in phosphorus.  For example, 1 serving of mozzarella cheese has nearly 10 times the amount of phosphorus as 1 serving of cream cheese.  Thus, acceptable forms of dairy for someone with overtaxed kidneys or kidney disease are:

Butter

Cream cheese

Sour cream 

Half and half

Heavy whipping cream

(And of course, these shouldn't be overdone to avoid overtaxing the body with fats.)

Long story short, after discontinuing my diet that is ultra high in phosphorus for a few days, my energy levels definitely improved.  

(Yes, I should be getting paid money for this one because I dare to say that this time my findings are on the playing field of a registered dietician, but I don't have that fancy piece of paper on the wall, so I guess I'll keep my day job.)