WEDNESDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Bottled mineral waters enriched with added calcium may be a useful means to boost intake of the mineral, according to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Robert P. Heaney, M.D., of Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., analyzed data on the absorbability of calcium from high-calcium mineral waters. He supplemented the findings with his own previously unpublished data from laboratory tests, in which human volunteers consumed a low-calcium test meal together with high-mineral content water with tracer quantities of 45Ca.
The results of these experiments and the previously published data on calcium absorbability indicated that high-calcium mineral waters were equal to milk in terms of absorbability of calcium. The tests used to determine levels of absorption included measurement of urinary calcium, serum parathyroid hormone levels, bone resorption markers and protection of bone mass.
"Mineral water consumption can potentially account for a substantial fraction of total daily calcium intake and hence can help close the gap between recommended and actual calcium intakes," the author concludes. However, he adds that high-calcium mineral water acts as a supplement, providing only a single nutrient, whereas milk "provides, in addition to its calcium, a broad array of other nutrients important for total body and skeletal health."
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