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High bioavailability of calcium in fortified Horlicks
B Teucher1, J R Dainty, S J Fairweather-Tait
1Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich, Norfolk, UK.
Objective:
To compare the bioavailability of calcium carbonate-fortified Horlicks with calcium naturally present in milk.
Design:
Randomised crossover within-subject comparison using a double label stable isotope technique.
Setting:
Institute of Food Research, Human Nutrition Unit.
Participants:
Sixteen pre-menopausal women aged 23-40 y, habituated to a high-calcium diet (mean 1240 mg/day).
Results:
Mean true fractional calcium absorption was 38.8% (s.d.+/-14.5) from Horlicks and 21.2% (s.d.+/-4.6) from milk. Significantly more calcium was absorbed from a serving of Horlicks than from the same quantity of calcium present in 420 g semi-skimmed milk (P<0.001).
Conclusions:
Fortified Horlicks is a highly bioavailable source of calcium. A single serving, containing at least 500 mg calcium, provides half the reference nutrient intake for the population sub-group with the highest requirement (adolescent boys) and more than half for all others.
Sponsorship:
SmithKline Beecham funded this research project.