Read the
magazine
story to find out more. |
![Shown are foods rich in copper: nuts, sunflower seeds, lobster, green olives, wheat bran, liver, blackstrap molasses, cocoa, oysters and black pepper. Link to photo information](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081004232222im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/jan06/k5106-1i.jpg) Rich sources of
copper include nuts, sunflower seeds, lobster, green olives, wheat bran, liver,
blackstrap molasses, cocoa, oysters and black pepper. Click the image for
more information about it. |
Study Suggests Boning up on Copper While
Dieting
By Rosalie Marion Bliss
March 27, 2006
People who are overweight or obese are vulnerable to losing
unhealthful amounts of calcium from their bones when they go on weight-loss
diets. But a study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists suggests that consuming
about three times the recommended amount of dietary copper may help women
retain calcium in their bones when dieting.
The study was led by ARS physiologist
Henry
C. Lukaski and was reported in abstract form at a meeting sponsored by the
American Society for Clinical Nutrition.
Lukaski is assistant director of the
Grand
Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, N.D.
Of the women who completed the study, in addition to the copper
present in the foods they ate, just under half received daily supplements of 3
milligrams (mg) of copper. The others received supplements of only 1.2 mg. All
participants--who ranged in age from 25 to 35 years old--were then put on a
weight-loss diet for 4 months.
During the study, the researchers tracked the participants loss
of calcium with isotopes. The study showed that the women who were given 3 mg
of additional copper were more likely to retain calcium in their bones.
The current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for copper is 0.9 mg
for women older than 19 years. ARS findings provide science-based data to
experts who establish and update the RDAs.
This study suggests the current RDA for copper may not be adequate
during weight loss.
Good sources of copper include green vegetables, mushrooms, seafood,
liver, nuts, seeds, wheat bran, some cereals and whole grains.
Read more
about the research in Agricultural Research magazines March 2006
issue, which focuses on ARS obesity research.
ARS is the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.