Cadmium is not a nutrient, and can be toxic at low doses. Years ago, a poisoning occurred in Japan that affected only poor elderly women living in one locale. Most had several children. Their diet...

Cadmium is not a nutrient, and can be toxic at low doses. Years ago, a poisoning occurred in Japan that affected only poor elderly women living in one locale. Most had several children. Their diet consisted primarily of rice grown in cadmium-contaminated paddies. They developed itai itai (pain-pain), a disease characterized by kidney damage and brittle, painful bones. Others eating the same diet were not adversely affected. What factors may have caused only these individuals to be adversely affected?