Is a vegan diet deficient in Phosphorus?

Someone in my family recently gave me an article from a newspaper listing the benefits of Phosphorus in a diet. I was always taught that Phosphorus is important but I was never sure why. The article given to me was informative but didn't list any sources.

So I did some more research and this is what I found out...

Phosphorus is only one of the minerals required by the body for proper function. It is present in every cell of the body, but 85% of the body's phosphorus is found in the bones and teeth. There is generally no deficiency of phosphorus because it is so readily available in the food supply.

Excessively high levels of phosphorus in the blood, although rare, can combine with calcium to form deposits in soft tissues such as muscle. High levels of phosphorus in blood only occur in people with severe kidney disease or severe dysfunction of their calcium regulation.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002424.htm

We know phosphorous alone is not as healthy as when it's digested in food because food has many elements which work in concert when your body digests it.

For example
Go here www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez - Type "Co-dependence of calcium and phosphorus on growth and bone development under conditions of varying deficiency" into PubMed search field

Another good source is "Relationship to Phosphorus and Protein Intakes"

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1349&page=178

This article is very interesting since it studies the relationships of phosphorous and a vegan diet. Guess what, they found that "Diets moderately low in bioavailable phosphate – like many vegan diets – might be expected to have a complementary impact on disease risks"

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0306-9877(03)00228-7


Actually if you want to see the Phosphorus content in foods go here
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR16-1/wtrank/16-1w305.pdf
And of any mineral vitamin or nutrient for that matter
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR16-1/wtrank/wt_rank.html

The recommended daily dietary intake of phosphorus set by the FDA is 1000-mg. The Food and Nutrition Board set the official scientific US RDA at 800-mg to 1200-mg.

Under normal conditions, there is only a very small possibility of a phosphorus deficiency because phosphorus is both abundant and widely distributed in most foods.

So when someone is arguing that a vegan diet is somehow deficient in phosphorous, that simply doesn't add up.