Jennifer Matthews: Janie And Alicia Are Good Friends. They play together. They are home schooled together. And they are in a research study together. The girls drink orange juice mixed with this white powder called Inulin. Inulin is a bioactive food.
Dr. Steven Abrams: Bioactive foods are functional foods, or foods that have a potential real health benefit beyond just getting the calories and the nutrients that are in them.
Jennifer Matthews: Doctor Steven Abrams says the foods change the way your gut works, allowing you to absorb more calcium. This is especially important during adolescence to form healthy bones and reduce the risk of osteoporosis in the future.
Dr. Steven Abrams: What we find is that by adding Inulin to the diet, the girls actually absorb more calcium than they would have from their diet since they weren't having inulin in their diet.
Jennifer Matthews: While Janie and Alicia admit they don't think about calcium
Janie Enloe and Alicia Villarreal: Not really. No.
Jennifer Matthews: Their moms do.
Sharon Villarreal: We don't drink much milk in our house, so we are very aware that we do need the calcium.
Jana Enloe: She is very tiny and thin and I thought a bone density study would be very good way for her to learn more about her body and nutrition and to make sure that we were doing what we needed to be doing for her growth.
Jennifer Matthews: The girls will drink the powder every day for a year then doctors will see if it makes a difference in their bone growth.
If the research continues to show benefits, doctor Abrams says food manufacturers may add Inulin to their products. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services