Finally, Ice Cream Is Good for You 
http://www.infobeat.com/articles3/news_health_1_113001.html
December 2001

The additive that makes low-fat ice cream smooth may also make 
kids' bones stronger, a group of researchers think. 

Baylor College of Medicine scientists are beginning a year-long 
study to see if they can duplicate the results they saw in an 
earlier study on inulin, which is an additive that also gives 
sauces and gravies better "mouth feel" and makes meat juicier. 

Inulin is a carbohydrate found naturally in such foods as 
asparagus, garlic, bananas, onions and several grains. Partially 
digestible, it is high in soluble fiber and has only 1.5 calories 
per gram, compared to 9 calories per gram in fat and 4 per gram in 
fully digestible carbohydrates like sugar. It's used to add texture 
to a variety of low-calorie foods. (On ingredient labels, it may be 
listed as inulin, oligofructose or chicory root fiber.) 

"It's classically found in Jerusalem artichoke, which is not very 
popular among teen-agers," says Dr. Steven Abrams, a pediatrics 
professor at Baylor College of Medicine and the researcher who is 
leading the study. 

In 2000, Abrams reported that adolescent girls whose high-calcium 
diets were supplemented with inulin increased their calcium 
absorption by almost 80 milligrams, which would be the equivalent 
of drinking an extra 7 ounces of milk. That study, sponsored by a 
company that manufactures a brand of inulin, ran for two months. 
Now, the researchers are expanding the study to 9- to 12-year-old 
boys and girls to see what happens when inulin is added to 
calcium-fortified orange juice for a year.