What Is Phosphorus & What Foods Can I Find It In?

Phosphorus is an essential major mineral.

It is a component in our bones, teeth, DNA, and RNA.

It makes phosphorus essential for life. But it can be toxic in large amounts.

Most plants use phosphate as an energy source.

Phosphorus Is An Essential Mineral

Phosphorus is an essential mineral. It is vital in the formation of DNA.

It is also needed together with calcium to build strong and healthy bones. (source )

Phosphorus is a common nutrient, it’s not something you need to worry about, it’s not so hard to get enough.

How To Get Enough Phosphorus?

Phosphorus can be found in different foods. It’s naturally found in protein-rich foods such as meats, poultry, fish, nuts, beans, and dairy products.

Phosphorus found in animal foods is absorbed more easily than phosphorus found in plant foods. (source )

Organically grown vegetables accumulate approximately 13% more phosphorus than non-organically. (source )

It’s recommended that you eat foods high in protein and phosphorus at every meal.

Added Phosphorus

Phosphorus can be added to food in the form of an additive.

Added phosphorus is commonly found in fast foods, ready-to-eat foods, canned and bottled drinks, enhanced meats, and most processed foods.

Phosphorus from food additives is completely absorbed. But high phosphorus levels can cause damage to your body. (source )

Some effects are:

Foods You Can Find Phosphorus, P In

Baking powder in a jar
Baking powder contains phosphorus

You find Phosphorus, P mostly in baked, sweets, nuts and seeds, cereal and pasta products.

Examples of food sources include

Foods That Contain Phosphorus, P In Our Nutrition Tool

You can find regularly updated top-ranked lists of foods for over 200+ nutrients in our nutrition tool.

If you are interested in what foods contain the most Phosphorus, P we recommend you visit our tool.

Here's our top-ranked list of foods that contain Phosphorus, P.

Sara Niemelä

co-founder Care Omnia, Head Content Creator

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Nutrition is my passion. I've spent thousands upon thousands of hours reading, analyzing, categorizing and comparing research studies.

I’m a wife and a mother of three. I enjoy the outdoors, cooking, and spending time with my family.