The Phosphorus Effect

Things that have a lot of phosphorus:

-baking powder
-china and plates
-fireworks
-fertilizer
-glass
-the human body

I'm not saying we have a lot in common with all of these things, but...that's what the evidence suggests.

Totally kidding. Well, kidding about having a lot in common with a plate. Humans do, in fact, contain a lot of phosphorus--1% of our body weight, to be exact. To put that in perspective, think about how much you weigh (I weight approximately 140 pounds); so I have 1.4 pounds of phosphorus in my body. That is a heck of a lot of atoms, especially since one atom of phosphorus weighs around 0.000000000000000000000515g. That's not very much. It takes 602000000000000000000000 atoms to reach 1 gram. 

Now that we have the amount of phosphorus in perspective, let's talk about why the human body needs that much. 

The main function of phosphorus is to mineralize (form) both the bones and the teeth. As the body absorbs the phosphorus from our food, it deposits it into our bone and teeth, making them stronger and more durable. About 85% of the body's phosphorus is found in the bones and teeth. So that's kind of a big deal. 

Another function that's equally as important is the formation of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). You know, that one molecule that is our sole source of energy inside of the body. All of our macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein) can be broken down to create ATP. If the body has a mechanism that breaks down nutrients to create a different molecule, you know that it is absolutely vital for your survival. 

Weirdly enough, phosphorus also assists the macronutrients, specifically protein. As discussed in previous posts, protein is important for the growth, repair, and replacement of cells and body tissues. I don't know about all of you, but I definitely want that to continue to happen inside of my body. 

Now that I have shared some intense facts about phosphorus with you, here is my absolute favorite one: it is found in so many foods that deficiency in developed countries is incredibly rare. So that's super exciting! 

But if you are still worried (or if you are like me and find all of this stuff really fascinating), here is a list of foods that contain phosphorus:

-meat and milk
-whole grain breads and cereals
-fruits and vegetables

 So if that's not the greatest news for my meat and potato western diet then I don't know what is. Except that I don't eat a lot of either of those. But I at least have the whole grains down!

Once again, this is one of those times where nature is a total bro. We need phosphorus just to exist everyday, even if we have a number of different illnesses and conditions. Nature has our back guys, we just need to take advantage of it!