At 06:29 PM 6/13/97 -0500, Keith <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>> The answer seems to be that dietary grains interfere with calcium
>> absorption, and mineral absorption in general, because the phytic
>> acid in the grains binds with the mineral ions.  Thus, a
>> grain-rich diet creates a need for more dietary calcium, to
>> compensate for what the phytic acid is stealing.
>
>If this is true, how come women in cultures (in the far east) whose diet
>primarily consists of grains (rice) do not exhibit anywhere near the
>symptoms of calcium deficiency (e.g. osteoporeisis) found in United
>States?

What's missing in the first paragraph is that the phytic acid is in *whole*
grains. The rice eaten in the Far East is not whole.

Don.