Fish liver and seagull eggs, vitamin D-rich foods with a shadow: results from the Norwegian Fish and Game Study.

Mol Nutr Food Res. 2012 Mar;56(3):388-98. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201100395. Epub 2012 Feb 8.
Birgisdottir BE, Brantsaeter AL, Kvalem HE, Knutsen HK, Haugen M, Alexander J, Hetland RB, Aksnes L, Meltzer HM.
Division of Environmental Medicine, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. bryndis.eva.birgisdottir at fhi.no

SCOPE: Fish liver, fish liver oil, oily fish and seagull eggs have been major sources of vitamin D for the coastal population of Norway. They also provide dioxin and polychlorinated dioxin-like compounds (dl-compounds), which may interfere with vitamin D homeostasis. We investigated whether serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) might be compromised by concomitant intake of dl-compounds.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 182 adults participating in the Norwegian Fish and Game Study. Participants who consumed fish liver and/or seagull eggs had higher dl-compound intake and blood concentrations than non-consumers (p < 0.001).

Vitamin D intake was higher (p < 0.001), whereas serum 25(OH)D was lower (p = 0.029) in consumers than in non-consumers.

Among non-consumers, vitamin D intake was associated with serum 25(OH)D (?=1.06; 95% CI: 0.48, 1.63). This association was weaker among consumers (? = 0.52; 95% CI: -0.05, 1.08), but strengthened when adjusted for retinol intake (? = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.12, 1.21). The association between vitamin D intake and serum 25(OH)D did not seem to be compromised by intake of dl-compounds.

CONCLUSION: To secure adequate vitamin D status while keeping the intake of dioxins and dl-polychlorinated biphenyls low, a healthy diet should include both supplemental vitamin D and oily fish.
Despite high nutrient content, dietary fish liver and seagull eggs should be restricted, due to dl-compounds and possible vitamin A-D antagonism.

Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

PMID: 22319024
– – – – – – – – – –

See also Vitamin D Life

• Vitamin D needs some vitamin A, but not too much – Nov 2011
• Vitamin A may thwart the ability of vitamin D to reduce risk of osteoporosis – June 2010
• Masterjohn on relationships between Vitamin A D and K – Dec 2010
• Vitamin A and risk of prostate cancer – March 2011
• Vitamin A may thwart the ability of vitamin D to reduce risk of osteoporosis – June 2010
• Price and Masterjohn on Vitamin A Vitamin D and Vitamin K – 2010
• Vitamin D protects against lung cancer unless there is excess vitamin A – July 2012
• Increased salt consumption decreased vitamin D
  decreases effectiveness of vitamin D by depleting Magnesium and Calcium cofactors
• Vitamin A serum levels of more than 2.2 micromols may interfere with vitamin D – April 2013
• All items in category Vitamin A 54 items

See also web

• Wikipedia dioxin-like compounds
  are by-products of various industrial processes,
  are commonly regarded as highly toxic compounds that are environmental pollutants and persistent organic pollutants