Private MD News

Researchers predict vitamin D-fortified bread will soon become staple

Category: Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

One of the reasons why doctors are seeing so many patients with unhealthy vitamin D test results is the fact that the nutrient is relatively rare in foods. It only occurs naturally in a handful of items. However, online segment produced by the American Chemical Society says that this may soon change.

The podcast predicts that vitamin D fortified bread could soon become a staple source of the nutrient, much in the way that fortified milk has. Vitamin D can be put into nearly any food product but that doesn't necessarily mean that the body will absorb the nutrient. The experts in the video say that fortified bread increases the absorption of vitamin D.

"There have been doubts that high concentrations of vitamin D would work in bread," said Connie Weaver, a Purdue University researcher who appeared in the video. "But our study showed that bread made with vitamin D2-rich yeast, fed to the laboratory rats, had effects that seemed just as beneficial."

The fortification of bread could be important because many people currently suffer from vitamin D deficiency. It has become a common health concern in the U.S. and millions of people could benefit from another quality food source of the vital nutrient.