Molybdenum – An Essential Element for Health

Mo may be a little-known and important element that could be life-threatening when its levels in the body are unbalanced. With 42 protons and 54 neutrons, Mo is located right in the middle of the periodic table, and it is in considerable demand as an alloy for strengthening steel. It's also the only element that keeps most of your food from being lethal.

Mo enters your diet through plants, which take it up from the soil. It is a significant part of a small enzyme called sulfite oxidase. This enzyme breaks down the incoming sulfites and turns them into useful food. Take away the Mo and the enzyme. So, continued Mo deprivation can lead to a buildup of uric acid in the bloodstream, which can bring on terrible joint inflammation and pain. Even worse, Mo deficiency can cause the nervous system to suffer.

But can't we avoid sulfite intake? It is possible to do so. The FDA makes it illegal to add sulfites to raw fruits and vegetables, but there are some sulfites in almost every other food. Pickled fruits, restaurant food (especially shellfish and potatoes), and the food you find on the grocery store shelves. Beer and wine both naturally contain sulfites. Basically, all of these foods that contain sulfites can be deadly if your body doesn't have enough molybdenum.

Too much Mo can cause the same result. Again, sulfur is the initiator of this. In the body system, the extra Mo has a high affinity for sulfur, and it will form a tetrathiomolybdate with the four sulfur atoms. The tetrathiomolybdate will grab any and all nearby copper and make it unavailable to the body. Additional copper can be added, but if there is too much Mo in the body, a person can still die from the lack of copper.

For our health, scientists have worked out a way to use molybdenum to help with a rare disease - one that is fatal because of excessive copper accumulation.

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