CHICKEN SOUP REVISITED - CALCIUM CONTENT OF SOUP INCREASES WITH DURATION OF COOKING

Because low dietary calcium intake may accelerate bone loss, patients often are advised to increase their dietary intake of calcium. However , some patients may be unable to tolerate good calcium sources such as dairy products. We postulated that the calcium content of soups and s tews could be increased by prolonged cooking with a beef bone. Three e xperiments were done to prove this theory: (1) a bone soup made with a beef bone and distilled water, cooked for 24 hours; (2) a bone-vegeta ble soup cooked the same way; and (3) a vegetable soup made the same w ay but without the bone. It was concluded that prolonged cooking of a bone in soup increases the calcium content of the soup when cooked at an acidic, but not at a neutral pH.