Vitamin D-enhanced eggs can protect against vitamin D deficiency in winter: evidence from a randomized controlled trial of adults

Low vitamin D status is common in the United States and Europe with 8% and 13% of the population, respectively, reported to have serious vitamin D deficiency (i.e. serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration <30 nmol/L) [1,2]. There is a considerable mismatch between current intakes of vitamin D and recommended target intakes for the vitamin [3]. Fortification of a wider range of foods with vitamin D has been proposed as a strategy for increasing intake that would have the greatest impact on the population [4]. The use of ‘bioaddition’ which involves the addition of vitamin D to an animal’s diet to increase the vitamin D content in the resultant food [5], deserves serious consideration as it may produce foods that are more acceptable to consumers as well as increase the intake of various vitamin D compounds leading to improved vitamin D status [6].