Phosphoric acid

Phosphoric acid

What is phosphoric acid?
Have you ever looked at the ingredients list of your favorite soft drink? Most likely, you will see phosphoric acid. This substance is one of the common additives in many processed foods that manufacturers use to flavor and preserve food freshness.

Phosphoric acid is a colorless and odorless mineral acid containing phosphorus. This substance is a separating agent that binds to many divalent cations including Fe2 , Cu2 , Ca2 and Mg2 . This substance is used in dentistry and orthodontics as an etching solution to clean the dental surfaces where dental devices or materials are placed. In addition, phosphoric acid is one of the constituents of bones and teeth and plays a role in many metabolic processes.

Phosphoric acid appears as a colorless liquid or a transparent powdery crystalline solid. Pure phosphoric acid melts at a temperature of 42.35 degrees Celsius and its density is 1.834 grams per cubic centimeter. Liquid phosphoric acid is usually added to an 85% aqueous solution of this substance.

Phosphoric acid is a phosphorus oxoacid that consists of one oxo group and three hydroxy groups attached to the central phosphorus atom. The image below shows the structural formula of phosphoric acid.
What is phosphorus and why is it important?
Phosphorus is the second most abundant mineral in your body. The first abundant substance in the body is calcium. The body needs phosphorus for many of its functions, such as filtering waste products and repairing tissue and cells.

Most people get the amount of phosphorus they need through their daily diet, in other words, it can be said that a lot of phosphorus enters the human body. Kidney disease or eating too much phosphorus, as well as lack of calcium in the body, can lead to an increase in body phosphorus.

Of course, it should be kept in mind that some conditions such as diabetes and alcoholism or the use of drugs (such as some antacids) can cause the level of phosphorus in your body to be very low.

What does phosphorus do?
You need phosphorus to:

Keeping bones strong and healthy
Helping to produce energy
Movement of body muscles
In addition, phosphorus helps to:

Building strong teeth
Body storage and use of energy
Reducing muscle pain after exercise
Filter waste in the kidney
Growth, maintenance and repair of tissue and cells
Production of DNA and RNA - the genetic building blocks of the body
Balance and use of vitamins such as B vitamins, D as well as other minerals such as iodine, magnesium and zinc
Heart rate regulation
Facilitate nerve conduction
What foods contain phosphorus?
Most foods contain phosphorus, in other words, protein-rich foods are also excellent sources of phosphorus. Examples of these are:

meat and chicken
fish
Milk and other dairy products
the eggs
When your diet contains enough calcium and protein, you're likely to get enough phosphorus, which is why many foods that are high in calcium are also high in phosphorus.

Some non-Peru food sources