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
Review
. 2024 Dec 14;16(24):4322.
doi: 10.3390/nu16244322.

The Impact and Efficacy of Vitamin D Fortification

Ruyuf Y Alnafisah  1 , Atheer S Alragea  1 , Mona K Alzamil  1 , Amani S Alqahtani  1
Affiliations
Review

The Impact and Efficacy of Vitamin D Fortification

Ruyuf Y Alnafisah et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is a global health issue linked to various chronic diseases and overall mortality. It primarily arises from insufficient sunlight exposure, compounded by dietary limitations. Vitamin D fortification of commonly consumed foods has emerged as a viable public health intervention to address this deficiency. This review evaluates the impact of vitamin D food fortification on serum levels, intake, and health outcomes and explores the stability, bio-accessibility, bioavailability, and cost-effectiveness of such interventions. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar, focusing on studies from 2015 to 2024. The criteria included primary research on healthy adults that addressed the effects of vitamin D fortification on health, intake, and serum levels, as well as the fortification's stability, bio-accessibility, bioavailability, and cost-effectiveness. Studies were extracted and analyzed according to PRISMA guidelines. The review included 31 studies from diverse geographic locations, revealing that fortifying dairy products, cereals, fats, oils, and other food items effectively increased serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. The fortification methods varied, with vitamin D3 showing superior efficacy over vitamin D2. Encapsulation techniques improved stability and bioavailability. Fortifying staple foods like milk and eggs proved cost-effective compared with pharmaceutical interventions. Vitamin D food fortification significantly enhances serum levels and intake, with dairy and cereals being the most frequently fortified. Standardized fortification guidelines are essential to ensure safety and efficacy. Ongoing evaluation and region-specific policies are crucial for effectively optimizing fortification strategies and addressing vitamin D deficiency.

Keywords: bio-accessibility; bioavailability; cost-effectiveness; food fortification; fortification doses; fortification methods; stability; vitamin D.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Charoenngam N., Holick M.F. Immunologic effects of vitamin D on human health and disease. Nutrients. 2020;12:2097. doi: 10.3390/nu12072097. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. da Silva A.B.J., Barros W.M.A., da Silva M.L., Silva J.M.L., da Silva Souza A.P., da Silva K.G., de Sousa Fernandes M.S., da Fonseca Carneiro A.C.B., de Oliveira Nogueira Souza V., Lagranha C.J. Impact of vitamin D on cognitive functions in healthy individuals: A systematic review in randomized controlled clinical trials. Front. Psychol. 2022;13:987203. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.987203. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sohouli M.H., Wang S., Almuqayyid F., Gabiatti M.P., Mozaffari F., Mohamadian Z., Koushki N., Alras K.A., AlHossan A.M., Albatati S.K., et al. Impact of vitamin D supplementation on markers of bone turnover: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Eur. J. Clin. Investig. 2023;14:1150187. doi: 10.1111/eci.14038. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mendes M.M., Botelho P.B., Ribeiro H. Vitamin D and musculoskeletal health: Outstanding aspects to be considered in the light of current evidence. Endocr. Connect. 2022;11:e210596. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sîrbe C., Rednic S., Grama A., Pop T.L. An update on the effects of vitamin D on the immune system and autoimmune diseases. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022;23:9784. doi: 10.3390/ijms23179784. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources