photo credit: Danielle Scott

Mineral absorption (or more appropriately – lack of mineral absorption) is a very common problem for many people, especially those with gastrointestinal disorders, such as IBS, acid reflux, Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

Since mineral absorption is dependent upon hydrochloric acid, those on antacid medications have substantially reduced capacity to absorb minerals, such as calcium, iron and zinc.

To further exacerbate the problem, the bioavailability of many minerals is particularly low from plant foods.

That means that even though a lot of vegetables, legumes and cereal grains are high in many minerals, the body has a hard time absorbing them for one reason or another.

Deficiencies in these minerals can lead to a host of imbalances, including weak bones, osteopenia and/or osteoporosis, decreased immune function, fatigue, poor healing and hormone/sexual problems.

However, a new study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showed that consuming garlic or onion can dramatically improve mineral absorption.

Garlic and onions – the 1-2 punch for increased mineral absorption

Using a model to simulate the human GI tract, researchers found that the uptake of minerals from both cooked and raw cereal grains and legumes was increased in the presence of both garlic and onion.

Specifically, iron absorption was increased about 70% and zinc absorption increased between 10-160%! That’s a huge difference for spicing up your dishes a little!

The improvement in bioavailability is most likely due to the high sulfur content in garlic and onion. Sulfur containing amino acids like cysteine have previously been shown to boost iron and zinc absorption in laboratory animals.

An added benefit – these same sulfur compounds have been shown to help speed healing in the GI tract. So those that need it most – people with GI tract disorders – get a terrific 1-2 punch for eating more garlic and onion: (1) increased mineral absorption and (2) improved GI tract healing.

You might want to have some breath mints on-the-ready though.

Original article:

Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1021/jf100716t
“Higher Bioaccessibility of Iron and Zinc from Food Grains in the Presence of Garlic and Onion”
Authors: S. Gautam, K. Platel, K. Srinivasan

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