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Phosphorus

Published on September 30, 2026   5 min

A selection of talks on Metabolism & Nutrition

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0:00
Hello. My name's Susan Fairweather-Tait. I'm a professor of human nutrition in the Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia in the UK. I'm going to be talking to you about phosphorus.
0:13
Phosphorus is a structural component of the nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, and it's involved in the storage and transmission of genetic material. It's an essential component of phospholipids, and many sugars, proteins, and enzymes in the body are phosphorylated. It is also an integral component of adenosine triphosphate, ATP. This is the body's key energy source, and many intracellular signalling processes depend on phosphorus-containing compounds. You can see phosphorus is used quite widely. About 85% of total body phosphorus is in hard tissues, where it has a structural and chemical role. Then the remaining 15% is in the blood and soft tissues, where it has metabolic and regulatory roles.
0:58
The major dietary contributors to phosphorus intake are foods that are high in protein. These include milk and milk products, meat, poultry, and fish, grain products, and legumes. The total intake of phosphorus is about 1-1.8 g/day.
1:18
Absorption of phosphorus in the small intestine is unregulated. It has a wide range, something from 55-80%. The primary pathway is non-saturable, passive transport. The transcellular pathway is characterised by active intestinal phosphate transport that occurs primarily through the action of the sodium-dependent phosphate transporter. Once absorbed, phosphorus enters

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