Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Feb;115(2):225-230.
doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2014.09.014. Epub 2014 Nov 17.

Dietary fat increases vitamin D-3 absorption

Bess Dawson-Hughes, Susan S Harris, Alice H Lichtenstein, Gregory Dolnikowski, Nancy J Palermo, Helen Rasmussen
Randomized Controlled Trial

Dietary fat increases vitamin D-3 absorption

Bess Dawson-Hughes et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015 Feb.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Absorption; Healthy adults; Meal conditions; Vitamin D-3; Vitamin D-3 supplementation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types