Fortified Vitamin D Bread Improves BMD

Bread fortified with much more vitamin D than used previously produced no evident adverse effects on sun-deprived nursing home residents and improved bone density measures (Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89(4):1132-37). In a single-arm design, 45 nursing home residents consumed one bun daily that had been fortified with 125 µg (5000 IU) vitamin D3 and 320 mg elemental calcium.

The initial mean (±SD) serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration was 28.5 ± 10.8 nmol/L. After 12 months, the 25(OH)D concentration was 125.6 ± 38.8 nmol/L, and it exceeded 74 nmol/L in 92 percent of the patients. At every 3-month follow-up, serum parathyroid hormone was lower than at baseline (P=0.001). No changes in serum calcium or cases of hypercalcemia were observed at the follow-up assessments. Both mean total urinary calcium and the mean urinary calcium-creatinine ratio increased from baseline at one follow-up time point (P<0.05). Between baseline and the 12-month visit, z scores for bone mineral density at the lumbar spine and the hip both increased significantly (P<0.001). Researchers concluded fortification of bread with 5000 IU vitamin D3/d provided reasonable assurance that vitamin D-deficient older adults attained a serum 25(OH)D concentration greater than the desirable objective of more than 75 nmol/L.