Vitamin D-fortified bread is as effective as supplement in improving Vitamin D Status: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Context: Bread can potentially be a suitable vehicle for fortification with Vitamin D. Objective: This study was undertaken to evaluate the following: 1) the bioavailability of Vitamin D from the fortified Iranian bread and 2) the possible effects of daily consumption of the fortified bread on certain health aspects. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted over 8 weeks in 90 healthy subjects aged 20-60 years. Intervention: Subjects were randomly allocated to one of three groups: 1) fortified bread (FP; 50 g bread fortified with 25μgvitaminD3plus placebo daily;n=30); 2) supplement (SP; 50gplain bread plus 25 μg Vitamin D supplement daily; n = 30); and 3) control (CP; 50 g plain bread plus placebo daily; n = 30). Outcome Measures: Initial and final anthropometric and biochemical assessments were performed. Results: The within-group changes of serum 25-hydroxyVitamin D concentrations were 39.0±22.6 (P≤.001), 28.9±31.2 (P≤.001), and 9.2±12.3 nmol/L in the FP, SP, and CP groups, respectively. Only in FP and SP groups, serum intact PTH concentrations decreased approximately 13.5% and 14.5%, respectively. Visceral fat also showed a significant decrement in FP (1.05% ± 1.4%; P ≤ .001) and SP (0.96% ±1.7%; P = .006). Serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration showed a within-group reduction in FP (10.4 ± 11.2 mg/dL; P ≤.001) and an insignificant decrement in SP (6.6 ± 20.2 mg/dL; P ≤ .083). Serum high-density lipoprotein increased in both Vitamin D-supplemented groups (FP: 9.7 ±7.6 vs SP: 5.7 ± 6.7 mg/dL; P ≤ .001). Conclusion: Vitamin D-fortified bread could be potentially effective in raising circulating 25-hydroxyVitamin D levels of the population to nearly adequate levels.