Beverages for Better Bones

By David Feder, R.D.

For years, use of vitamin D and calcium was limited to dairy-based products and orange juice to avoid problems with solubility, which can negatively affect sensory characteristics. Now, however, there is an increased effort to widen the variety of available calcium and vitamin D ingredients, as well as other complimentary bone health compounds.

When developing a calcium-fortified food product, the considerations are flavor, solubility, bioavailability, mineral content, costs, ease of processing, natural image and stability in application. However, simply adding calcium to clear juices and carbonated or novelty beverages is not enough, as it can result in higher calorie consumption and a combination of pH and phosphoric acid that might contribute to calcium depletion. Fortunately, dairy-based beverages are currently growing in popularity and include milk- and/or yogurt-based smoothies, flavored milk, kefir and drinkable yogurt.

In addition to calcium and vitamin D, other nutrients such as phosphorous, magnesium, genistein, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and vitamin K2, are needed to effectively build and maintain healthy bone mass. Some ingredients are designed to align bone-building compounds with their components in nature. For instance, there is now a calcium phosphate ingredient with a ratio identical to that found in bone and teeth; this ingredient is suitable for sports beverages and juices. In situations like this, micronization technology helps to deliver calcium, magnesium and phosphorus in proportions identical to nature.

Read the full article at our Food Product Design magazine Web site.

David Feder is director of Chicago-based S/F/B Communications Group, an international cooperative of food, nutrition science and health communications experts and consultants. Contact S/F/B at [email protected].