Vitamin D 30 percent more available at breakfast which had high fat content

Created November 2014

Dietary Fat Increases Vitamin D-3 Absorption

Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2014.09.014

Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD [email protected], Susan S. Harris, DSc, Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, Gregory Dolnikowski, PhD, Nancy J. Palermo, Helen Rasmussen, PhD, RD

Measured response to 50,000 IU vitamin D with 3 types of breakfastsHigh fat breakfast resulted in 1/3 higher response to the same dose of vitamin DAbstract does not indicate1. The form of Vitamin D: oil, powder, etc. (powder is better)1. If the Vitamin D was eaten before, during, or after the meal ( later is better)1. What the outcome might be for evening meal as compared to breakfast* Vitamin D is about 3X times longer in the small intestine after evening meal* Perhaps more bio-available because the fatty breakfast stayed in the gut longer 1. See also Vitamin D Life* All items in How/When to take vitamin D ** items * * Increased vitamin D in blood by 56% by taking supplement with largest meal of the day - May 2010* Vitamin D bioavailability is associated with cholesterol – Jan 2011* Vitamin D bioavailability: State of the art – Oct 2014* How you might double your response to vitamin D* Vitamin D with or before a meal: small Swiss study, no conclusion – Feb 2013* Take vitamin D with or before evening meal* When to take Vitamin D* No long term differences in vitamin D levels with amount of fat in breakfast – Feb 2013 * which disagrees with the current study - but it is the same author!!* Increasing the ratio of mono to poly fats increased Vitamin D levels by 6 ng – RCT Aug 2011* Oil-based Vitamin D3 has the worst bioavailability – April 2014

Background

The plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D response to supplementation with vitamin D varies widely, but vitamin D absorption differences based on diet composition is poorly understood.

Objectives

We tested the hypotheses that absorption of vitamin D-3 is greater when the supplement is taken with a meal containing fat than with a fat-free meal and that absorption is greater when the fat in the meal has a higher monounsaturated-to-polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio (MUFA:PUFA).

Design

Open, three-group, single-dose vitamin D-3 comparative absorption experiment.

Participants/setting

Our 1-day study was conducted in 50 healthy older men and women who were randomly assigned to one of three meal groups: fat-free meal, and a meal with 30% of calories as fat with a low (1:4) and one with a high (4:1) MUFA:PUFA. After a 12-hour fast, all subjects took a single 50,000 IU vitamin D-3 supplement with their test breakfast meal.

Main outcome measures

Plasma vitamin D-3 was measured by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry before and 10, 12 (the expected peak), and 14 hours after the dose.

Statistical analyses performed

Means were compared with two-tailed t tests for independent samples. Group differences in vitamin D-3 absorption across the measurement time points were examined by analysis of variance with the repeated measures subcommand of the general linear models procedure.

Results

The mean peak (12-hour) plasma vitamin D-3 level after the dose was 32% (95% CI 11% to 52%) greater in subjects consuming fat-containing compared with fat-free meals (P=0.003). Absorption did not differ significantly at any time point in the high and low MUFA and PUFA groups.

Conclusions

The presence of fat in a meal with which a vitamin D-3 supplement is taken significantly enhances absorption of the supplement, but the MUFA:PUFA of the fat in that meal does not influence its absorption.

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