EXPERIMENTS ON THE UTILIZATION OF THE CALCIUM OF ALMONDS BY MAN. That there is ...

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EXPERIMENTS ON THE UTILIZATION OF THE CALCIUM
OF ALMONDS BY MAN.
BY MARY SWARTZ ROSE AND GRACE MAcLEOD.
(From the Department of Nutrition, Teachers College, Columbia University,
New York.)
(Received for publication, May 21, 1923.)
That there is little difference in the efhciency with which the
adult human subject utilizes ^the calcium of carrots compared
with that of milk has been shown by one of the authors (1) in
a previous experiment. Since then Sherman and Hawley have
found that in the case of young children the calcium of vegetables
is not as readily stored as the calcium of milk (2), but Blatherwick
and Long (3) found in two experiments with adult women on a
diet in which about half the calcium came from an assortment of
vegetables that there was considerable storage with an int,ake of
from 0.5 to 0.75 of a gm. of calcium per day.
In the present study the almond was used as the main source
of calcium, the general plan of the experiment being similar to
that on the utilization of calcium in the carrot. Three new studies
on the comparative utilization of calcium in milk were also made.
Twelve healthy young women served as subjects. The diet
taken by each was uniform throughout the 15 days of the experi-
ment. Urine and feces were analyzed in 3 day periods. Calcium
was determined by McCrudden’s method. The almonds were
blanched, air-dried, finely ground, and made into wafers with
white of egg. These when baked were crisp and easily eaten.
One attempt was made to use almonds from which a considerable
part of the oil had been expressed, hoping to facilitate the diges-
tion of the diet by decreasing the percentage of fat. This,
however, proved impractical.
In these, as in the earlier experiments, the diet was planned
to yield calcium equivalent to the estimated minimal require-
ment of each subject (0.0065 gm. per kilo of body weight). We
305
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306 Utilization of Ca of Almonds
found, however, in our first and third series (Experiments 1, 2, 3,
8, and 9 in Table V) that our actual intake was lower than
the original estimate, the calcium content of the aimonds being
only a little more than half the amount expected (0.132 per cent
instead of 0.239 per cent). In the second series (Experiments
4 to 7) we anticipated a similar composition of our almonds,
TABLE I.
Daily Food Intake in Grams per Capita.
Experiment No.
Food material. - -
11213 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
-- -. -- -
Almonds, blanched 104 136 136 222 202 202 !13 ---- -
Apples, edible por-
tion . . . . . . . . 119 159 159 954 636 536 ‘36 518 318 260 250 !50
Beef, lean round. . 74 98 98 64 128 64 64 128 128 125 125 100
Butter. . . . . . . . . . 29 39 39 - - 13 13 26* 26* 75 50 67
Crackers. . . . . 73 96 96 24 60 48 48 48 48 - - -
Egg white. . . . . 37 49 49 100 150 150 too 50 50 - - -
Sugar. . . . . . 75 100 100 - 50 - 50 75i 75t - 50 -
Coffee.. . . . . - - - 1.3 - 1.3 - ---- -
Ca(HPO&.H20.. . 0.66
Almond press-cake - - - - - - - 175$175$ - - -
Bread, white. . . 110 175 150
Milk, whole. . . 193 258 183
Rice , . . . . 80 90 75
Tomato juice. 100 125 loo
G. Washington
coffee.. . . . . . - 25
-
* Periods I to II. Reduced to 13 gm., Periods III to V.
t Periods I to II. Reduced to 50 gm., Periods III to V.
$ Periods I to II. Changed to 180 gm. of almonds, Periods III to V.
although they were a different lot, but found the calcium yield
almost as high as our original expectation (0.223 per cent). In
the experiments in which these almonds were used, the total
intake was consequently higher than we had intended. How-
ever, intake of calcium is in all cases within the range of normal
human requirement as reported by Sherman (4).
The total diet in the almond experiment consisted of almonds,
apples, lean beef, butter, crackers, egg white, sugar, ,and in two
cases, coffee. The proportion of the total calcium derived from
M. S. Rose and G. MacLeod 307
TABLE II.
Calcium Content of Foods Used in Diets.
Food material. Period. Calcium.
-.~
cent
per
Almonds, blanched. . . . . . . . . l-3 I-V 0.132
4-7 I 0.221
II-III 0.223
IV-V 0.212
879 III-V 0.133
Almond press-cake. ............. 879 I-II 0.141
Apples. ......................... l-7,11-12 I-V 0.005
10 I-V 0.006
899 I-V 0.004
Beef, lean round. ................ l-3 I 0.013
II 0.039
III 0.034
IV 0.013
V 0.021
4-i,ll-12 I 0.015
II 0.008
III-IV 0.011
V 0.007
8-9 I-II 0.005
III-V 0.004
10 I-II 0.018
III-V 0.014
Bread, white. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 I-V 0.035
11-12 I-V 0.028
Butter........................... l-3 I-V 0.019
6,7,11>12 I-V 0.016
8,9 I-V 0.014
10 I-V 0.020
Calcium phosphate
(Ca(HPO&.HzO) . . . . . . . 4 I-V 16.0
Coffee........................... 416 I-V 0.298
308 Utilization of Ca of Almonds
TABLE II-Concluded.
Food material. Period. Calcium.
--
pm cent
Crackers.
Uneedas ........ ...... l-3 I-V 0.021
Saltines. ....... ...... 4-7 I-V 0.033
Uneedas ........ ...... s-9 I-V 0.025
Egg white. ....... ...... l-3 I-V 0.010
4-7 I-V 0.012
8-9 I-V 0.015
Milk. . . . . . ...... 10 I-V 0.118
11-12 I-V 0.115
...... 10 I-V 0.008
11-12 I-V 0.000
Tomato juice. ...... 10 I-V 0.003
11-12 I-V 0.007
almonds ranged from 73 to 86 per cent, and is stated for each
subject in Table V. In the milk experiments, white bread, whole
milk, rice, tomato juice, and in one case G. Washington
coffee were used (the same diet as in the milk experiments pre-
viously reported (1)). Milk furnished from 70 to 74 per cent
of the total calcium. Distilled water only was used throughout
these experiments. The daily food intake and calcium content
of the foods used are shown in Tables I and II.
Digestibility of Almond Diet.
The digestibility of the amond diet was investigated separately,
there being some doubt as to how efficiently a diet so high in fat
would be absorbed. Five young women served as subjects, two
of whom were also subjects in the calcium balance experiment
(H. G., Experiment 6 and J. R., Experiment 7). The diet in
this experiment was as shown in Table III.
Qualitative tests for carbohydrates in the feces indicated that
the amount was small if any. Our experiences with rolled oats
led us to believe that more was to be learned about the fate of
M. S. Rose and G. MacLeod 309
TABLE III.
Almond Diet Used in Digestion Experiment.
I
Amounts per capita per day.
Food oWf eifgohot d. Nitrogen :NP rotXe in 6.25) Fat. caTloorietasl.
Qm. Qrn. Qm. Qm.
Almonds, blanched. ......... 180 6.98 43.63 105.55 1,165
Apples, edible portion ........ 318 0.20 1.25 1.59 200
Beef, lean round. ............ 128 4.30 26.88 15.64 261
Sugar. ...................... 50 200
Butter ....................... 13 0.02 0.13 11.05 100
Crackers (saltines). ......... 48 0.74 4.63 6.10 207
Egg white. ................. 50 0.94 5.88 0.10 25
Total. ...................... 13.18 82.40 140.03 2,158
~-
TABLE IV.
Average Daily Output of Protein and Fat in Feces in DigestionExperiment
with Almond Diet.
Coefficients
of digestibility.
Subject. Fat
Protein. Fat.
Qrn. Qm.
H. G. ............. 0.97 6.04 11.65 92.6 91.6
M. L. ............. 1.18 7.38 13.55 91.1 90.3
C. M. ............ 1.77 11.04 12.83 86.6 90.8
F. 0. ............. 2.47 15.43 12.70 81.2 90.9
J. R. ............. 1.34 8.38 11.50 89.8 91.8
Average. ......... 1.55 9.65 12.45 88.3 91.1
TABLE V.
Average Daily intake and Output of Calcium on Almond Diet.
Per kilo of body weight.
meEnxtp eri- No. Subject. weBiogdhyt . aclma ondfsr.o m --
Intake. / Output. 1 Balance.
kg. per cent mg. mg. mg.
1 B.H. 45 74 4.1 5.1 -1.0
2 M.F. 60 73 4.1 5.6 -1.5
3 M.K. 60 73 4.1 4.9 -0.8
4 D.H. 75.8 73 8.8 7.7 +1.1
5 E.B. 55 85 9.4 9.4 0.0
6 H.G. 55 86 9.3 11.6 -2.3
7 ~ J.R. ~ 58 85 9.4 11.1 -1.7
8 B.B 1 52.7 86 5.5 10.1 -4.6
9 H.C. 50.5 86 5.7 7.1 -1.4
310 Utilization of Ca of Almonds
the almonds (5) from a study of protein and fat. The utilization
of these foodstuffs was almost as high as for oatmeal mush in a
simple mixed diet.
Coejicients of Digestibility of Almond and Rolled Oats (Oatmeal Mush) Diets.
Food. Protein. Fat.
cent cent
p&t per
Almond. . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88.3 91.1
Oatmeal................................ 89.9 91.8
The diet was taken for 3 days, the feces being marked off by car-
mine; collected feces were dried daily on a water bath after being
rubbed to a paste with alcohol slightly acidified with hydrochloric
acid, combined, and ground for analysis. The results are shown
in Table IV. There was no evidence, therefore, of serious loss
TABLE VI.
Average Daily Intake and Output of Calcium on Milk Diet.
Per kilo of body weight.
mEexnpt eri- No. Subject. wBeoigdhyt . W;gof”
Intake. output. B&ll0e.
kg. per cent n&7. mg. VW.
10 B.B. 54 70 6.0 6.4 -0.4
11 G.C. 62.5 74 6.4. 6.3 +0.1
12 C.M. 45 71 6.6 7.4 -0.8
13* E.B. 54 70 7.1 6.0 +1.1
14* R.E. 56 70 6.8 5.3 +1.5
* Previously reported, cf. Rose (1).
of calcium in feces through failure of digestion. In one case (B.
B., Experiment 8) we felt that there was some likelihood of poor
absorption, her output of calcium being extremely high. That her
low intake was in part the cause of her high negative balance was
shown by her output on the milk diet (Experiment lo), in which
a higher intake practically resulted in equilibrium.
The average daily balance of calcium in nine experiments on
the almond diet is shown in Table V.
To allow ample time for adjustment to the experimental diet,
the figures for the first period have in each case been excluded
from the averages. With two exceptions (H. G., Expaiment
M. S. Rose and G. MacLeod 311
6 and B. B., Experiment 8) the subjects were practically in
calcium equilibrium. One of these (B. B.) has already been
referred to. In the other case the digestion experiment (see
Table IV) showed even better utilization than the average of
the group, so that this is clearly a case of inadequate supply.
TABLE VII.
Sunamary of Calcium Balance Experiments.
Average Daily Intake, Output, and Balance per Kilo of Body Weight.
Experiment No. Ratio of urinary to fecal calcium.
Period I. Almond diet.
mg. mg. m3.
1,2,3 4.1 5.2 -1.1 1:8.8
4,5,6,7 9.2 9.9 -0.7 1:34.6;1:6.9;1:35.5; 1:22.4
8,9 5.6 8.6 -3.0 1:8.9
Period II. Milk diet.
10,11,12,13,14 / 6.6 ( 6.3 1+0.3 1 1:3.4
Period III. Carrot diet.
15,16 17 1:3.4
li 1 K / “4:; 11::: / 1:2.3
Period IV. Vegetable diet (Blatherwick and Long).
1:3.4
i: /‘:::I ;:$/ 1:3.8
The utilization of calcium on all the milk experiments which
we have conducted (three new ones and two formerly reported)
are shown in Table VI. In these, equilibrium was practically
established on 6 to 7 mg. per kilo of body weight.
We are now able to compare data on three types of diet of our
own (milk, almond, and carrot) and the two experiments reported
by Blatherwick and Long on a mixed vegetable diet. These are
briefly summarized in Table VII. The protocols of the present
experiments are given in full in Table VIII.
312 Utilization of Ca of Almonds
TABLE VIII.
Intake and Output of Calciuna in 3 Day Periods.
si, 1 Subject. 1 Period. 1 tgr 1 .,i~~~~~ on~~o,,,, / Balance.
Almond diet.
urn. urn. urn. urn. Qm.
1 B.H. 0.197 0.037 0.157 0.194 t-o.003
0.195 0.018 0.143 0.161 $0.034
0.177 0.044 0.286 0.330 -0.153
0.183 0.010 0.182 0.192 -0.009
Average. . . 0.188 0.027 0.192 0.219 -0.031
__-
2 M.F. 0.233 0.021 0.144 0.165 +0.068
0.255 0.028 0.311 0.339 -0.084
0.253 0.039 0.275 0.314 -0.061
3.233 0.015 0.246 0.261 -0.028
0.241 0.063 0.374 0.437 -0.196
___~
Average . . 0.246 0.036 0.302 0.338 -0.092
3 M.K. 0.233 0.019 0.406 0.425 -0.192
0.255 0.036 0.263 0.299 -0.044
0.253 0.030 0.268 0.298 -0.045
0.233 0.032 0.311 0.343 -0.110
0.241 0.019 0.208 0.227 +0.014
__-
Average.. . . . . . 0.246 0.029 0.263 0.292 -0.046
-.
4 D.H. 0.676 0.020 0.417 0.437 $0.239
0.676 0.018 0.482 0.500 f0.176
0.677 0.017 0.460 0.477 $0.200
0.653 0.017 0.578 0.595 +0.058
0.650 0.013 0.739 0.752 -0.102
___~
Average. . . . . . . 0.664 0.016 0.565 0.581 +0.083
5 E.B. 0.529 0.042 0.570 0.612 -0.083
0.524 0.061 0.401 0.462 +0.062
0.527 0.057 0.541 0.598 -0.071
0.505 0.060 0.480 0.540 -0.035
0.500 0.084 0.381 0.465 +0.035
~___
Average. . . . . . . 0.514 0.066 0.451 0.516 -0.002
* No analysis made for Period I.
M. S. Rose and G. MacLeod 313
TABLE VIII-Continued.
-
T
gm. wn. gm. gm. c7m.
66 HH..GG.. II 0.523 0.023 0.451 0.474 +0.049
IIII 0.522 0.017 0.646 0.663 -0.141
IIIIII 0.524 0.011 0.518 0.529 -0.005
IIVV 0.502 0.013 0.453 0.466 +0.036
VV 0.499 0.029 0.866 0.895 -0.396
--
Average. . . . . . . . 1 II-V 0.512 0.018 0.621 0.638 -0.127
7 J.R. I 0.554 0.005 0.581 0.585 -0.031
II 0.554 0.034 0.756 0.791 -0.237
III 0.555 0.029 0.571 0.600 -0.045
IV 0.532 0.024 0.655 0.679 -0.147
V 0.530 0.022 0.478 0.500 +0.029
--
Average.. . . . . . . II-V 0.543 0.027 0.615 0.643 -0.100
8 B.B. II* 0.289 0.037 0.535 0.572 -0.283
III 0.288 0.044 0.447 0.491 -0.203
JV 0.288 0.056 0.463 0.519 -0.231
V 0.288 0.043 0.499 0.542 -0.254
Average. . . . . . . . II-V 0.288 0.045 0.486 0.531 -0.243
9 H.C. II* 0.289 0.063 0.305 0.368 -0.079
III 0.288 0.053 0.222 0.275 +0.013
IV 0.288 0.014 0.440 0.454 -0.166
V 0.288 0.046 0.284 0.330 -0.042
Average. . . . . . _ . II-V 0.288 0.044 0.313 0.357 -0.069
Milk diet.
10 B.B. I 0.328 0.045 0.356 0.401 -0.072
II 0.328 0.056 0.303 0.359 -0.031
III 0.323 0.068 0.259 0.327 -0.004
IV 0.323 0.058 0.297 0.355 -0.032
V 0.323 0.070 0.280 0.350 -0.027
pp----
Average. . . . . . . . II-V 0.324 0.063 0.285 0.348 -0.024
Utilization of Ca of Almonds
TABLE VIII-conduded.
Milk diet-Continued.
T T
gm. gm. gm. mn. l7m.
11 G.C. I 0.407 0.039 0.362 0.401 $0.006
II 0.398 0.041 0.221 0.263 +0.135
III 0.401 0.034 0.314 0.348 +0.053
IV 0.401 0.134 0.302 0.436 -0.035
V 0.396 0.101 0.415 0.516 -0.120
Average. . . . . . II-V 0.399 0.078 0.313
---
12 C.M. I 0.302 0.078 0.553 0.631 -0.329
II 0.295 0.071 0.247 0.318 -0.023
III 0.298 0.103 0.235 0.338 -0.040
IV 0.298 0.072 0.280 0.352 -0:054
V 0.294 0.090 0.240 0.330 -0.036
Average.. . . . . . II-V 0.296 0.084 0.251
CONCLUSIONS.
In experiments on adult women in which about 73 per cent of
the calcium of the diet was derived from almonds, there was a
daily output of from 5 to 6 mg. of calcium per kilo of body weight
on an intake of 4.1 mg. per kilo, indicating that calcium equilib-
rium could be secured about as efficiently as when milk furnished
approximately the same proportion of the calcium (70 per cent)
or when carrots furnished either 55 or 85 per cent of the total;
namely 5 to 6 mg. per kilo.
When the almonds contributed 85 to 86 per cent of the calcium,
the amount necessary for equilibrium was increased. One sub-
ject was in equilibrium on 9.4 mg. per kilo, and another had a
shortage of 1.4 mg. on an intake of 7.1 mg. per kilo, but the output
of three other cases indicated the need of from 10 to 12 mg.
Hence it would seem that from 8 to 12 mg. per kilo are required
when almonds furnish all but 14 to 15 per cent of the total calcium.
These returns are similar to those of Blatherwick and Long on
a mixed vegetable diet in which about 50 per cent of the calcium
was derived from vegetables with an indication of equilibrium on