Scientists have created a "vitamin bullet" for the shellfish we eat

More than 2 billion people worldwide suffer from nutritional deficiencies, leading to a range of health problems

serious health problems.Micronutrient fortification is already an industry standard for promoting public health. Scientists from Cambridge's zoology department have teamed up with BioBullets to create one of the world's healthiest and most sustainable sources of animal protein: bivalves such as oysters, clams and mussels.

Dr. David Aldridge and PhD student David Wheelercreated the world's first microcapsule specially designed to deliver nutrients to bivalve molluscs that are beneficial to human health. These “Vitamin Bullets” - patented by Aldridge's BioBullets - are designed to be optimal in size, shape, buoyancy, and attractive to shellfish.

When we eat bivalve molluscs, wewe consume his entire body, including the intestines. Which means that we digest the nutrients that animals consumed towards the end of their lives. This makes bivalve molluscs an ideal target for nutrient fortification.

In their Cambridge laboratory, scientists tested microcapsules fortified with vitamins A and D on more than 100 oysters to determine the optimal dose.

Researchers have found that fortified oysterscontain 100 times more vitamin A and 150 times more than natural oysters. They also outperform salmon in terms of their performance, and this is one of the best natural sources of these vitamins. Fortified oysters contain 26 times more vitamin A and 4 times more vitamin D than salmon. The scientists found that a serving of just two of their overloaded shellfish provided enough vitamin A and D to meet the human recommended diet (RDA).

In bivalve molluscs, the protein content is higher,than in beef, they are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. They also contain some of the highest levels of essential minerals of any animal product. However, the nutrients they naturally deliver are unlikely to solve the problem of global scarcity. These shellfish are very resistant to cultivation, have a much lower ecological footprint than animal meat or fish, and even lower than many other crops such as wheat, soy and rice.

The researchers note that consumers are morepoor regions, where vitamin deficiencies are most common, are more likely to purchase slightly more expensive fortified foods than additional purchases for pills. They estimate that fortification adds only $ 0.0056 to the cost of producing one oyster.

Read also

Look at the huge “wall” of hundreds of thousands of galaxies behind the Milky Way

Comet NEOWISE is visible in Russia. Where to see her, where to look and how to take a photo

It turned out that made the Mayan civilization leave their cities