ABSTRACT

Most of the attention given to carbohydrate-mineral interactions has focused on the effects of the fiber component of the carbohydrate diet on the intestinal absorption and therefore the bioavailability of minerals. However, it is now apparent that interactions occur between utilizable dietary carbohydrates and a number of minerals that can influence the biological function of these minerals and thereby affect metabolic and physiological processes dependent upon them. In this discussion, studies will be described in which the feeding of carbohydrates, such as sucrose, lactose, fructose, glucose, glucose polymers, and starch, either alone or as part of diets to experimental animals or humans, has been reported to dif­ ferentially affect the status of minerals, such as iron, copper, selenium, chromium, calcium, zinc, and magnesium. Although many of these ef­ fects appear to be mediated through modulations of intestinal absorption, a direct action of certain carbohydrates on the postabsorptive metabolic

utilization of some of these minerals also appears to occur. The im­ plications of some of these findings as they impact on hum an health will be evaluated and possible mechanisms of action underlying these interac­ tions will be discussed.