Examining the effects of increased vitamin D fortification on dietary inadequacy in Canada

Abstract

Despite mandatory fortification of milk and margarine, most Canadians have inadequate vitamin D intake and consequently poor vitamin D status. Inclusion of more foods to be fortified and increasing the levels of fortification are possible strategies to address this inadequacy. We used dietary intakes (24‐h recall) from the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey 2.2 (n = 34,381) to model the effectiveness of increased vitamin D fortification by determining the prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy and percent of intakes >;Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) based on several fortification scenarios. Doubling of milk fortification, and fortification of yogurt and cheese at 6.75 μg/serving led to more than doubling of vitamin D intakes across all sex/age groups and a drop in the prevalence of inadequacy from >;80% to <50% in all groups. Furthermore, no intakes approach the UL under any fortification scenario in any sex/age group. Given the pressing need to improve vitamin D status among Canadians, and the fact that increasing vitamin D in dairy products can lead to increased intake without a risk of excess, increased fortification is a population wide strategy that should be given consideration in Canada. (Funded by the Dairy Farmers of Canada)