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Increasing Calcium in Carrots and Other Vegetables
By Alfredo
Flores November 19, 2008
Carrots have been modified to have higher amounts of calcium,
according to studies by Agricultural
Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists who report that the research could
be used to add this valuable nutrient to other crops.
The current U.S. recommended average intake of calcium for adults aged
19 to 50 is 1,000 milligrams daily. But inadequate dietary calcium is a global
concern, and poor diets and exercise habits prevent many people from achieving
and maintaining optimal bone health. Calcium is a key component for healthy
bones.
At the
Children’s
Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) in Houston, Texas, CNRC professors of
pediatrics
Kendal
Hirschi and
Steven
Abrams boosted calcium levels by inducing carrots to express increased
levels of the gene sCAX1, which enables the transport of calcium
across plant cell membranes.
To determine the bioavailability of the calcium in the modified
carrots, 30 volunteers15 females and 15 males of various ethnic
backgrounds and in their early to late 20sate single meals containing
regular or modified carrots, which were labelled with a stable isotope of
calcium.
After two weeks, the researchers found that the calcium intake of
volunteers who consumed the modified carrots increased by 41 percent, compared
to those who ate regular carrots.
Read
more about this research in the November/December 2008 issue of
Agricultural Research magazine.
CNRC is operated by Baylor College of
Medicine in cooperation with
Texas Children's Hospital
and ARS, a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.