New Delhi, December 22 (IANS). Whenever we talk about health, we mostly take the name of calcium, iron or vitamins. But, there is also a mineral which silently works in every corner of the body. Its name is phosphorus. If calcium is the brick of bones, then phosphorus is the cement that binds those bricks together. If the body needs energy to run, phosphorus acts like a power bank.
Phosphorus is the second most abundant mineral in the body after calcium. About 85 percent of the body’s phosphorus is stored in bones and teeth, with the rest in muscles, blood and cells.
Every movement of the body, walking, getting up, thinking, breathing, everything requires energy. This energy comes from a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphorus is essential in making this ATP.
Phosphorus is also very important for nerves and brain. It helps in properly transmitting the signals from the brain to different parts of the body. This is the reason why phosphorus deficiency can cause fatigue, weakness, irritability and difficulty in concentrating.
If there is a deficiency of phosphorus in the body, the muscles start becoming weak and the bones can become soft. Problems like rickets can occur in children and osteomalacia in adults.
At the same time, if phosphorus becomes excessive, it can cause harm, especially to kidney patients. Excess phosphorus pulls calcium from the bones, due to which the bones become weak.
The good thing is that phosphorus is easily available to us through food. Pulses, peanuts, soybean, milk, curd, cheese, cashews, almonds, oats and pumpkin seeds are all good sources of phosphorus. Phosphorus obtained from natural food is considered the safest.
Phosphorus is not called by a separate name in Ayurveda, but it has been linked to the nutrition of Asthi Dhatu and Madja Dhatu. Ayurveda believes that if the digestive fire is healthy, the body absorbs the essential nutrients on its own.
–IANS
PIM/ABM