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Milk Consumption and Zinc Retention in Postmenopausal Women¹

Mineral Bioavailability Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111

We measured intestinal ⁶⁵Zn absorption and whole-body retention in postmenopausal women following a meal extrinsically labeled with ⁶⁵Zn. The meal was consumed with 200 mL of milk or with a calcium phosphate supplement. Fifteen elderly (mean age 69) subjects were studied during three 12-d experimental periods in which they were fed either a basal diet containing 16 mg Zn or the basal diet supplemented either with 400 mL of milk or with dibasic calcium phosphate supplements containing an equivalent amount of calcium (468 mg) and phosphorus (360 mg). Measurements of fractional zinc absorption were made in 9 of the 15 subjects by a dual-isotope technique using ⁶⁵Zn and ⁵¹Cr (as nonabsorbable fecal markers). Fractional zinc absorption was 0.22 ± 0.06 (mean ± SEM) after the standard meal, 0.23 ± 0.06 with added milk and 0.22 ± 0.03% with the added calcium phosphate supplement. The corresponding values for ⁶⁵Zn retention in 15 subjects 12 d after dosing were 0.10 ± 0.01% for all treatments. No significant effect of milk or calcium phosphate supplementation was observed on either ⁶⁵Zn absorption or retention. We conclude that increased milk consumption with meals has no deterimental consequences on zinc nutriture in elderly women.

KEY WORDS: • zinc absorption • zinc retention • postmenopausal women • milk intake • calcium phosphate

¹ This project has been funded in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, under contract number 53-3K06-5-10. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government. This project has also been funded in part from a grant from the National Dairy Promotion Board administered in cooperation with the National Dairy Council.

² To whom reprint requests should be addressed at the Mineral Bioavailability Laboratory, USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111.

Manuscript received 2 May 1989. Revision accepted 29 November 1989.