by
Karl Haro von Mogel on 21 October 2009
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body, and most of it is found in our bones and teeth. Without this element to form the hard structures of our bodies, life as we know it as mammals would be in peril. We need it for our nerves and muscles to function properly, too. Many people in the United States are deficient in calcium, upwards of 44%, and in the developing world, these numbers are sadly much, much higher. And as we age, we lose more and more calcium from our bones, leading to osteoporosis. Women are particularly at risk for this disease once they go through menopause.
What can we do? Taking calcium in supplement form can be one way to absorb it, but according to the results of a huge multi-year trial of calcium supplements conducted by the Women’s Health Initiative, these provided only modest benefits. Only women over 60 who took the full regimen of calcium supplements (with Vitamin D) had a statistically significant difference from the control group. And this benefit came with a cost – of more kidney stones.
Nutrition research continues to find wrinkles in the vitamin and mineral pill-popping philosophy, often due to the fact that there are many factors that influence the absorption of needed nutrients. In the case of calcium, vitamin D is important to help its absorption, while antinutrients such as phytic acid (aka phytate) and oxalic acid will inhibit its absorption. One particular form, calcium oxalate, is insoluble in water, and will pass right through us, if it doesn’t irritate our tissues on the way through. (It is often shaped like tiny needles that the plants doubtlessly use to defend themselves.)
Can’t we just eat vegetables that are high in calcium? Not necessarily.
Continue reading…
by
Karl Haro von Mogel on 1 April 2009
Editor’s note: The following post was part of an April Fools Joke. Go here for more details.
By William Harvey:
Hello readers, I am William Harvey, the Director of Global GMO Policy at Greenpeace International. In exchange for support of this blog’s continued operations, I will be posting regularly at Biofortified, and my office staff will monitor and moderate the continued discussion. We have made a few minor changes to the look of the blog. Now for my first blog post.
Everyone knows that every Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are patented by corporations. There is not a single GMO that can be grown without the explicit permission through a signed contract. This puts the power in the hands of multinationals, taking it away from the indigenous people of Hawaii, Southeast Asia, Africa, and even farmers in the U.S. are having their right stripped away. The right to save seed is fundamental to growing food, and anything that removes this right is morally wrong.
This is why Greenpeace has a strong stance against genetic modification, because as a corporate technology it inherently requires that farmers be unable to save seed. We also seek to eliminate hybrid crops, because these are another method for maintaining the dominance of seed companies over farmers. Hybrids do not breed true – and so farmers have to keep re-buying seed. Recently, we have added seedless watermelons to our growing list of ‘farmer suicide’ foods, because the triploid seeds must be purchased every year.
As we have learned from cases such as Schmeiser v Monsanto, the biotech companies will stop at nothing to prevent farmers from saving their seeds.
Continue reading…
by
Pamela Ronald on 31 January 2009
If GE crops are considered safe by most scientists, why not simply label the produce from these crops and let people decide for themselves? Most people like to know what they are eating and make their own choices.
I am a label reader. If there is an excess of added sugar or too many ingredients with names that I don’t recognize then I don’t buy the product. Not all information, however, is useful.
A few months ago our local food coop began posting red “consumer alert” signs that say, “Conventional foods that contain corn, soy, or canola may be genetically engineered.” I find these signs more annoying than helpful.
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by
David Tribe on 22 January 2009
Hi. I’m David Tribe a.k.a. GMO Pundit and this is my first post here.
I am really different from the other people at this blog because have got grey hair and I come from down under — the land of Vegemite and kangeroos. But it’s really nice to also be part of Biofortified.
I’m passing on some old news and some fresher news in this post.
Fish make you brainy, or so my dear, sadly missed mother used to tell me.
Continue reading…
What can we do? Taking calcium in supplement form can be one way to absorb it, but according to the results of a huge multi-year trial of calcium supplements conducted by the Women’s Health Initiative, these provided only modest benefits. Only women over 60 who took the full regimen of calcium supplements (with Vitamin D) had a statistically significant difference from the control group. And this benefit came with a cost – of more kidney stones.
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