How much phosphorus does your body need?

First things first: phosphorus is not a typical deficiency element. Since it is contained in almost all foods as a natural phosphorus source or as an additive, healthy people do not need to worry about a deficiency. But what is your daily requirement? Which foods contain particularly high amounts of phosphate, and where do you find phosphates as an additive in food? What should you bear in mind if you have kidney failure?

The German Society for Nutrition e. V. DGE, together with the corresponding societies from Austria and Switzerland, publishes the D-A-CH reference values. They specify amounts for the daily intake of energy and nutrients that ensure vital physical and mental functions, prevent deficiency diseases and oversupply and, as far as possible, contribute to the prevention of chronic diseases, including those caused by nutrition. The reference values are graded according to age.

For phosphorus, an intake of 700 milligrams of phosphorus per day is recommended for adults aged 19 and over. Children and adolescents, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women, have a different requirement; the complete table can be found here [1].

We find natural phosphates in almost all foods. Seeds, pulses and nuts in particular have a high content; basically all protein-rich foods contain a lot of phosphorus. In addition, it is added to many foods in the form of additives.

Phosphates, i.e. the salts of phosphorus, occur naturally in almost all foods. Seeds and kernels, soy products, legumes, meat, fish and dairy products, as well as protein-rich foods are rich in phosphorus. The following table gives an overview of good sources of phosphorus:

A balanced, varied diet will provide you with enough phosphorus to meet your daily needs. Only if you suffer from prolonged diarrhoea, kidney dysfunction, intestinal inflammation or vitamin D deficiency, your body may not be able to absorb the phosphorus supplied to the body and deficiency symptoms may occur.

More about phosphate deficiency

Phosphates are often used as additives in many foods: they preserve and acidify meat, sausage and bakery products, stabilise and thicken dairy products, melt processed cheese and prevent pudding powder and baby food from clumping. Cola gets its typical sour taste, baking mix rises wonderfully in the oven. Phosphoric acid and phosphates are true all-rounders, especially in the ready-meal industry. Under various abbreviations such as E338 - E341, E343, E450, E451, E541, E1410 and E1412 - E1414, different phosphates are hidden in the food. On the packaging you will find the information that phosphates are contained, but the actual amount of phosphates added is not clear from the legally prescribed information. This means that you can easily take in too much phosphate on a regular basis and possibly damage your kidneys. You can find out more about the consequences of excess phosphates here .

Phosphates are naturally present in almost all foods. They are present in bound form as organic esters and are absorbed slowly and not completely in the intestine. Only about 60 per cent of the absorbed phosphate enters the blood, the rest is excreted unused. It is different with artificially added phosphates: they are freely soluble and are almost completely absorbed. As a result, the body can absorb too much phosphate, which can be a considerable danger, especially for patients with kidney disease, but also for healthy people.

A healthy kidney excretes excess phosphate. When the kidneys no longer function properly, health and well-being depend on proper nutrition. This is because it is the only way to ensure that the organism contains all the necessary nutrients and to reduce the accumulation of toxins that the kidney cannot excrete. Phosphorus is one of the substances that the body cannot sufficiently excrete in the case of kidney insufficiency. An accumulation in the blood negatively affects the bones and makes them brittle. To protect the vessels and bones, a maximum of 1200 milligrams of phosphate should be ingested. The natural phosphate content in food is known and can be found in tables, for example here [2]. As a general rule, a high protein content goes hand in hand with a high phosphate content. Milk, buttermilk, semi-hard and hard cheese should only be consumed in small quantities; low-fat curd cheese, cream cheese or Camembert are low-phosphate alternatives.

For many phosphate-containing foods, there is a low-phosphate alternative that you can easily use if you have kidney failure. The following table shows you some examples.

Heavily processed foods often contain phosphates as an additive for preservation, acidification or as a leavening agent. These are labelled with certain E-numbers, but the amount of added phosphate is not indicated. People with renal insufficiency should avoid these products with the corresponding E numbers as far as possible. These include, for example, ready meals, processed cheese, cola, custard powder, meat and sausage products or coffee powder.

Phosphorus is naturally found in almost all foods in the form of phosphates. An adult should consume about 700 milligrams of phosphorus per day. As a healthy person, you can easily consume this amount in your daily diet. Be careful with highly processed products: they often contain artificially added phosphate as a preservative, raising agent or stabiliser. These are labelled with specific E-numbers on the package. The often high phosphate content can be a health hazard, especially for people with kidney insufficiency. If you have kidney failure, you should switch to foods with a low natural phosphate content.