How Much Are the Elements in Your Body Worth?

Although some of the compounds in your body might have monetary value, the going rate for the pure elements would only be about one US dollar!
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by
Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
Updated August 25, 2018

Have you ever wondered how much the elements in your body are worth? First, let's take a look at the elements from which you are made.

Your body is made of:

  • 65% Oxygen
  • 18% Carbon
  • 10% Hydrogen
  • 3% Nitrogen
  • 1.5% Calcium
  • 1% Phosphorous
  • 0.35% Potassium
  • 0.25% Sulfur
  • 0.15% Sodium
  • 0.15% Chlorine
  • 0.05% Magnesium
  • 0.0004% Iron
  • 0.00004% Iodine

Your body contains trace amounts of other elements, such as silicon, manganese, fluorine, copper, zinc, arsenic and aluminum. What is the going rate for a body's worth of these elements? One US dollar! Are you surprised?

Selling For Parts

Let's see if we can bump the price up a bit. If you're looking to make a buck with your bod, your best bet would be to sell individual organs, but since that's illegal, an alternative might be to tan your hide for use as leather. Your skin would be worth about $3.50 if it were sold at the price of a cowhide, which runs around $0.25 per square foot. So, if you take a dollar's worth of elements plus the value of your skin, you might be able to get $4.50, which we'll round up to $5, so you'll feel better about your chemical value.