Feldspatader collects what the European Union lists as authorised claims for phosphorus: four functions, quoted word for word and placed in their biochemical context.
To the guideEach of the roughly 30 trillion cells of the human body is surrounded by an envelope measuring barely five nanometres. This envelope does not consist of a solid material but of two layers of fat molecules laid against each other. Each of these molecules carries a phosphate group at one end — hence the name phospholipid.
The phosphate group attracts water, the fatty tail repels it. From this contrast the order of the membrane arises entirely by itself: the phosphate heads turn outwards towards the body water and inwards towards the cell plasma, while the fatty tails line up against each other in the middle. Without the phosphorus component this self-ordering would not exist.
Feldspatader describes this relationship the way the specialist literature describes it — and, for all statements about health, keeps to what the EU Commission has authorised on the basis of opinions from the European Food Safety Authority. For phosphorus that is exactly four claims. They appear below in their exact wording.
Phosphorus is the only mineral that Feldspatader deals with. The EU Commission has authorised four health claims for it. Each belongs to a distinct function and is listed here individually.
About one fifth of the phosphorus outside the skeleton is in membrane lipids. Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine are the two most common representatives; their head group is a phosphoric acid ester that forms the boundary between the inside of the cell and its surroundings.
The membranes of the cell organelles — mitochondria, nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum — follow the same construction principle.
Under Regulation (EU) No 432/2012
Adenosine triphosphate carries three phosphate groups in a row. When the outermost one is cleaved off, energy is released that drives muscle work, ion pumps and biosynthesis. At rest, an adult turns over a mass of ATP each day that comes close to their own body weight — although each molecule is reused many thousands of times.
Under Regulation (EU) No 432/2012
Around 85 percent of the body's phosphorus is present as calcium phosphate in the skeleton. The mineral is called hydroxyapatite and is deposited in crystals a few nanometres long between the collagen fibres. Only this combination of tensile protein and compression-resistant mineral gives bone its mechanical properties.
Under Regulation (EU) No 432/2012
Tooth enamel consists of about 96 percent mineral, again overwhelmingly apatite crystals with a phosphate component. It contains no cells and is no longer formed anew once the tooth has erupted; the exchange of mineral happens via saliva at the surface.
Under Regulation (EU) No 432/2012
An adult human carries between 600 and 700 grams of phosphorus. After calcium, that is the second-largest mineral stock in the body. The distribution is markedly uneven:
Phosphorus is taken up as inorganic phosphate and as organically bound phosphate from protein sources. Depending on the source, the small intestine absorbs 55 to 70 percent of the amount supplied. Additives in processed foods are already in inorganic form and are absorbed proportionally better than the phytate of plant seeds.
The phosphate level in blood is not regulated through uptake but through excretion. If it rises, parathyroid hormone cuts back the recovery of phosphate in the kidney tubules, and the excess leaves the body with the urine. A second messenger, fibroblast growth factor 23 from bone cells, works in the same direction. If the level falls, the pattern reverses and recovery increases.
Because this interplay works reliably where kidneys are healthy, a deficiency is rare in Central Europe. The authorised claim is unaffected by this: “Phosphorus contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism” — Under Regulation (EU) No 432/2012.
Calcium and phosphate together form the bone mineral, but they compete for the same transport routes in the intestine. Nutrition bodies therefore cite a mass ratio of about 1 : 1 to 1 : 1.5 as a favourable order of magnitude. Anyone who eats and drinks a lot of meat, processed cheese and cola shifts it in favour of phosphate; a higher proportion of dairy products, green vegetables and calcium-containing mineral water works in the opposite direction.
With reference to the bone matrix, the authorised wording is: “Phosphorus contributes to the maintenance of normal bones” — Under Regulation (EU) No 432/2012. For dental hard tissue it reads: “Phosphorus contributes to the maintenance of normal teeth” — Under Regulation (EU) No 432/2012.
The fourth claim refers neither to the skeleton nor to energy turnover, but to the interface itself: “Phosphorus contributes to normal function of cell membranes” — Under Regulation (EU) No 432/2012. What was assessed here was the role of phosphate as a component of the phospholipids from which the bilayer is built. Signalling processes at the membrane, such as the phosphorylation of receptors, are not part of the wording of the claim and are mentioned here only as biochemical background.
A digital compendium on phosphorus supply: reference values, content tables for common foods and the four authorised claims in their exact wording, each with the source in the regulation.
One-time access · Digital information product
You can withdraw from the purchase within fourteen days of acquisition, without stating reasons. An informal message to our contact address is enough; the amount goes back via the same payment route you used for the purchase. The full conditions and the model form are set out in the Withdrawal Policy.
The texts on this website are general information and not medical advice. They replace neither examination nor diagnosis by a licensed physician. If you have symptoms, existing conditions — particularly of the kidneys — or before taking dietary supplements, consult your medical practice. Dietary supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet and a healthy lifestyle. Do not exceed the stated daily intake. Keep such products out of the reach of young children.
Feldspatader does not belong to Google LLC, YouTube LLC or Alphabet Inc. and does not collaborate with these companies on content. The names Google and YouTube are registered trademarks of Alphabet Inc. Neither Google nor YouTube has reviewed, approved or endorsed the texts published here. The fact that we use these providers' advertising products does not establish an endorsement by them. Statements about effects are general in nature; individual outcomes differ.
We read every message. State in the subject line what it is about — then your message goes straight to the right person.
Or write to us directly: [email protected]