Fortification of orange juice with vitamin D: a novel approach for enhancing vitamin D nutritional health

Background: Fortification of milk with vitamin D may not be adequate for satisfying the vitamin D requirement because of variability in vitamin D content after fortification and because many persons have milk allergy or lactose intolerance. Additional foods need to be fortified with vitamin D. Objective: We determined whether vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, is bioavailable in orange juice and skim milk, 2 nonfat beverages. Design: On 3 separate occasions, 18 adults ingested 25000 IU vitamin D-2 in 240 mL whole milk or skim milk or in 0.1 ML corn oil applied to toast. A separate, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial investigated whether the consumption of orange juice fortified with vitamin D-3 would increase serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations: 14 subjects ingested 240 mL orange juice fortified with 1000 IU vitamin D, and 12 subjects ingested a control orange juice daily for 12 wk. Results: Peak serum vitamin D-2 concentrations did not differ significantly after the ingestion of vitamin D-2 in whole milk, skim milk, or corn oil on toast. After subjects consumed orange juice fortified with 1000 IU vitamin D-3 daily for 12 wk, serum 25(OH)D-3 concentrations increased by 150%, and serum parathyroid hormone concentrations decreased by 25% compared with baseline; control subjects had a seasonal increase of 45% in 25(OH)D and no significant change in serum parathyroid hormone. Conclusions: The fat content of milk does not affect vitamin D bioavailability. Vitamin D fortification at 1000 IU/240 mL orange juice for 12 wk safely increased 25(OH)D-3 concentrations in adults.