Calcium and phosphorus are the most prevalent minerals found in the body. Each is important to maintaining your bone health and requires a balance for your bones to stay strong and dense. Your body uses hormones, including parathyroid hormone, to achieve this balance. If you have more of one mineral than the other, this can result in harmful effects for your body.
Parathyroid Hormone
Parathyroid hormone is the chief regulator of calcium and phosphorus in your body. Your body releases parathyroid hormone when you do not have enough calcium in your blood or when you have too much phosphate, according to the Colorado State University Extension. When parathyroid hormone is released, your body will hold on to more calcium in your blood. However, when you have too much calcium, your body will stop releasing parathyroid hormone and instead release calcitonin, which helps your body secrete excess calcium.
High Phosphorus Levels
If you take in large amounts of phosphorus in your diet through food sources such as skim milk, eggs, beef, chicken, fish and breads and do not take in enough calcium, your body can become imbalanced due to higher phosphorus levels. Because calcium and phosphorus work together, your body may start pulling calcium from your bones to help eliminate the added phosphorus. This can be harmful because pulling calcium from your bones weakens them and can make them easier to break.
Calcifications
In addition to weakening your bones, the added phosphorus and calcium can clump together in your body if your kidneys do not eliminate them. These deposits are called calcifications. Calcifications of calcium and phosphorus are especially harmful in your blood vessels because they can slow blood flow in your body. This means your heart has to work harder to push blood through your body, which can ultimately weaken your heart and contribute to heart disease.
Treatments
Physicians can use the relationship between calcium and phosphorus in your body to their advantage when treating you for conditions such as excess calcium in the blood, a condition known as hypercalcemia. In this instance, your physician may give you a phosphorus medication to bind calcium and phosphorus together for elimination in your body. If you have excess phosphorus in the body, your physician can prescribe medications known as phosphate binders that soak up phosphorus in your stomach and prevent your body from absorbing it and removing calcium from your bones. To continue to maintain this balance, your physician may recommend regular blood testing to ensure your calcium and phosphorus levels are balanced.
References
- Colorado State University; Endocrine Control of Calcium and Phosphoate Homeostasis; R. Bowen; October 2003
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Phosphorus; June 2009
- Linus Pauling Institute; Phosphorus; Jane Higdon, Ph.D.; April 2003
- Genzyme Corporation; Understanding Phosphorus, Calcium and PTH; April 2006
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