Racial/Ethnic in Calcium and Sodium Metabolism

The increased interest in personalized nutrition has arisen because scientists are beginning to understand subgroup differences in response to the environment including diet. Some suggest that dietary guidance which promotes milk is racially and ethnically insensitive because of higher prevalence of lactose intolerance/maldigestion in non-white groups. Preliminary evidence in Black and White adolescent girls shows that Blacks retain more calcium and excrete more sodium than white girls on a high sodium diet making Whites more vulnerable to osteoporosis and Blacks more vulnerable to hypertension on high salt diets. Adequate dietary calcium is protective for both groups. This project will compare calcium absorption and calcium and sodium excretion from lactose-free milk as part of a controlled diet on higher (usual Western diet) and lower (recommended) salt intakes in Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian adults.