Phosphorus

Optimal dose — n.a. (supplementing not needed).

Phosphorus is a key element in all known forms of life. Phosphorus is a component of DNA and RNA, as well as ATP, and is an essential element for all living cells. Phosphoric acid made from elemental phosphorus is used in food applications such as some soda beverages (especially Colas). It is also used in the processing of meat and cheese, in toothpaste, to soften water and for to prevent pipe/boiler tube corrosion. Because of this, phosphorus deficiency is rare in the American diet.

Due to its reactivity with air and many other oxygen-containing substances, phosphorus is not found free in nature but it is widely distributed in many different minerals.

An average adult human contains a little less than 1 kg of phosphorus, about 85% of which is present in bones and teeth in the form of apatite, and the remainder inside cells in soft tissues. A well-fed adult in the industrialized world consumes and excretes about 1-3 g of phosphorus per day in the form of phosphate.

In medicine, low phosphate syndromes are caused by malnutrition, by failure to absorb phosphate, and by metabolic syndromes which draw phosphate from the blood (such as re-feeding after malnutrition) or pass too much of it into the urine. All are characterized by hypophosphatemia, which is a condition of low levels of soluble phosphate levels in the blood serum, and therefore inside cells. Symptoms of hypophosphatemia include muscle and neurological dysfunction, and disruption of muscle and blood cells due to lack of ATP. Too much phosphate can lead to diarrhea and calcification (hardening) of organs and soft tissue, and can interfere with the body’s ability to use iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc.

More Information Online

Nutritional primer

We have a 20,000 word primer on nutrition at our website that provides more detail with study references on each nutrient. Click here to visit the "Phosphorus" section of our primer.