Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
June 7, 2013
Food safety scandals like toxic starch have contributed to Taiwan being dubbed the "Dialysis Kingdom." The Department of Health yesterday released last year's national mortality statistics, showing nephritis and kidney diseases ranked as the 11th and 7th leading causes of death for men and women, respectively. Over the past five years, Taiwan's mortality rate from kidney diseases has been about twice as high as the average in Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. Doctors say toxic food is one of the main culprits behind the persistently high number of kidney disease cases.
According to the Department of Health, over the past five years, approximately 13 out of every 100,000 people in Taiwan died from nephritis or kidney diseases, compared to 5 in South Korea, 6 in Japan, and 8 in Singapore—on average, about double the rate. Last year, 4,327 people in Taiwan died from these conditions.
**Dialysis Patients: Frequent Consumption of Takeout**
Lin Jie-liang, director of the Clinical Toxicology Department at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, pointed out yesterday that the cause of kidney disease remains unknown in more than half of patients. Recent scandals involving toxic starch containing the industrial chemical maleic acid and toxic soy sauce with 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD)—both of which are nephrotoxic—could damage kidneys with long-term consumption, even leading to dialysis.
Lin cited research from the international medical journal *The Lancet*, which confirmed an inverse relationship between kidney function and mortality rates. If a healthy person's kidney function is rated at 100, dialysis patients with only 15% kidney function face a mortality rate 3.14 times higher. Lin stated that chronic exposure to toxic food is likely one of the main reasons for the persistently high number of kidney disease cases in Taiwan.
Jiang Shou-shan, a nephrologist at Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, noted that consuming maleic acid can cause renal tubular damage. Some patients in clinics exhibit unexplained renal tubular injuries, which may be linked to long-term consumption of toxic starch products. A dialysis patient, Mr. Chen, shared that he has been on dialysis for two to three years and often eats takeout like tapioca balls. He worries about accidentally consuming toxic starch, which could further worsen his kidney function.
Reporters: Cai Minghua, Shen Nengyuan
Source: http:/ / www. appledaily. com. tw……/ headline/ 20130607/ 35069087/
Taiwan's Kidney Disease Rate Doubles Neighboring Countries Due to Toxic Starch
Food safety scandals like toxic starch have contributed to Taiwan being dubbed the "Dialysis Kingdom." The Department of Health yesterday released last year's national mortality statistics, showing nephritis and kidney diseases ranked as the 11th and 7th leading causes of death for men and women, respectively. Over the past five years, Taiwan's mortality rate from kidney diseases has been about twice as high as the average in Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. Doctors say toxic food is one of the main culprits behind the persistently high number of kidney disease cases.
According to the Department of Health, over the past five years, approximately 13 out of every 100,000 people in Taiwan died from nephritis or kidney diseases, compared to 5 in South Korea, 6 in Japan, and 8 in Singapore—on average, about double the rate. Last year, 4,327 people in Taiwan died from these conditions.
**Dialysis Patients: Frequent Consumption of Takeout**
Lin Jie-liang, director of the Clinical Toxicology Department at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, pointed out yesterday that the cause of kidney disease remains unknown in more than half of patients. Recent scandals involving toxic starch containing the industrial chemical maleic acid and toxic soy sauce with 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD)—both of which are nephrotoxic—could damage kidneys with long-term consumption, even leading to dialysis.
Lin cited research from the international medical journal *The Lancet*, which confirmed an inverse relationship between kidney function and mortality rates. If a healthy person's kidney function is rated at 100, dialysis patients with only 15% kidney function face a mortality rate 3.14 times higher. Lin stated that chronic exposure to toxic food is likely one of the main reasons for the persistently high number of kidney disease cases in Taiwan.
Jiang Shou-shan, a nephrologist at Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, noted that consuming maleic acid can cause renal tubular damage. Some patients in clinics exhibit unexplained renal tubular injuries, which may be linked to long-term consumption of toxic starch products. A dialysis patient, Mr. Chen, shared that he has been on dialysis for two to three years and often eats takeout like tapioca balls. He worries about accidentally consuming toxic starch, which could further worsen his kidney function.
Reporters: Cai Minghua, Shen Nengyuan
Source: http:/ / www. appledaily. com. tw……/ headline/ 20130607/ 35069087/