Phosphorus
The total phosphorus content in the body is about 700 g. The daily requirement is about 0.8-1.2 g. The Ca/P ration in food should be about 1.
Phosphorus, in the form of phosphate, free or bound as an ester or present as an anhydrate, plays an important role in metabolism and as such, is an essential nutrient.
The organic forms of phosphorus in food are cleaved by intestinal phosphatases and thereby absorption occurs mostly in the form of inorganic phosphate.
Polyphosphates, used as food additives, are absorbed only after prior hydrolysis into orthophosphate.
The extent of hydrolysis is influenced by the degree of condensation of the polyphosphates.
Although phosphorus is found in most food, common sources in a western diet are grains meats, legumes, nuts, seeds, dairy products, soda pop, and phosphorus additives to foods – mostly in the form of phosphates.
A deficiency is quite rare, except for small, premature babies who consume only breast milk, or for people who take an antacid with aluminum hydroxide for a long time.
In those rare cases, the symptoms include bone loss, weakness, loss of appetite and pain.
Phosphorus
