HOSA Nutrition Assessment Practice Test 2025 - Free Nutrition Assessment Practice Questions and Study Guide

Phosphorus is a critical mineral in the body not only for its role in bone health and energy transfer but also for its function in maintaining acid-base balance as a buffering agent in blood pH. The phosphate ions derived from phosphorus are involved in chemical reactions that help neutralize excess acids or bases, contributing to stabilizing the pH level of blood. This is essential because maintaining the proper pH range is vital for physiological functions and overall metabolic processes.

Other nutrients, while they may have various roles in the body, do not primarily function as a buffering agent in blood pH like phosphorus does. Calcium, for instance, plays key roles in muscle contractions and neurotransmission, sodium is essential for fluid balance and nerve function, and chloride primarily aids digestion as part of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. However, none of these nutrients are directly involved in the buffering system maintaining blood pH to the extent that phosphorus is.