Molybdenum: This is why the trace element is important to us

Molybdenum is one of the trace elements in the human body. We explain to you which tasks it fulfills there and in which foods the metal is found.

Molybdenum is a metal that is used, among other things, in the steel and electrical industries. However, it also occurs in small quantities in the human body and plays a role in various processes there.

What does the body need molybdenum for?

The medical lexicon DocCheck According to them, the benefits of molybdenum in the human body have not yet been fully explored. Still, a few things can be said about it:

• According to DocCheck, molybdenum occurs in the human body primarily as part of the so-called molybdenum cofactor (MoCo). In this, molybdenum is bound as an ion (i.e. in charged form) to a molecule called molybdopterin.
• The MoCo is part of various enzymes such as the Xanthine oxidase. This plays an important role in the Purinemetabolism and at Breakdown of alcohol.
• The Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung (DAZ) indicates another function of molybdenum: In the small intestine, it helps iron into a function that can be used by the body.
• Finally, molybdenum protects spectrum according to the teeth from tooth decay by there being the storage of fluoride supported in the teeth.

Molybdenum: Daily Needs and How You Can Cover Them

The German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommends that adults consume 50 to 100 micrograms of molybdenum per day through their diet. According to the Lexicon of Medical Laboratory Diagnostics by Springer Medizin, the actual needs of the body are only around 25 micrograms. However, the recommended daily intake is higher as the small intestine only 30 to 40 percent of the molybdenum supplied with food.

According to the DAZ, molybdenum is found in, among other things

• Liver and kidney of beef, sheep and pork (as the metal builds up in these organs)
• Legumes
• Grain
• Potatoes
• Red cabbage
• water

Spectrum states dairy products as another source of molybdenum.

Molybdenum Deficiency: Probability and Symptoms

According to the DAZ, you can cover your daily molybdenum requirement with around 60 grams of red cabbage, 50 grams of legumes or 100 grams of rice. A molybdenum deficiency is therefore unlikely. In fact, the DAZ reports on studies according to which the usual daily intake of molybdenum in Germany is around 70 micrograms. The Association for Nutritional Therapy and Prevention (FETeV) writes that a molybdenum deficiency occurs, if at all, in patients who are artificially fed over a longer period of time.

Apart from that, according to the DAZ, some people have genetic defects that affect the molybdenum-containing enzymes.

Since a molybdenum deficiency is very unlikely, there is little information about its consequences for the body.

• According to DocCheck, a molybdenum deficiency caused growth and fertility disorders as well as changes in the bone structure in animal experiments.
• The DAZ reports on a person with a molybdenum deficiency who suffered from night blindness, headaches and vomiting, among other things.

Molybdenum overdose: Also unlikely

FETeV also believes that dietary molybdenum overdose is unlikely. The amounts of molybdenum tolerated by the body are many times higher than the daily requirement – according to Springer Medicine, up to 150 micrograms of molybdenum per kilogram of body weight are still harmless.

FETeV writes that extremely high amounts of molybdenum (around ten milligrams a day) lead to increased uric acid formation in the long term. This makes gout attacks easier. In addition, a Copper deficiency arise because high amounts of molybdenum cause the body to excrete more copper.

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