How/when to take fat with fat-soluble vitamins? - few questions

[squish7]

If the only thing I ate in a 24-hour period was spinach and water, would the vitamin A be wasted because there’s no fat in my stomach to bind with the A, since A is fat-soluble?

I get the feeling that it’s a good idea to take fat at the same time as fat-soluble vitamins (like how we take fatty dressing with salads), but how much is enough? If I drink a glass of V8, can I just take a couple grams of fat with that, or would it help to guzzle ranch dressing at the same time? (Sometimes I mix canola oil with V8 because it seems to be a similar texture and I figure it goes along for the ride…?)

Once the vitamins get in your system, would it help to consume fat afterwards? Like do they still need fat hours later than consumed, or is that too late for any fat to help?

How about all the types of fat–monoun, polyun, omega-3/6, saturated–are fat-sol vitamins picky or do any of them do?

Thanks for the help!!

[Exapno_Mapcase]

Vitamins are small enough to be absorbed through the epithelial cells lining the small intestine. Fat-soluble vitamins get diverted to the lymphatic system with the fats before entering the bloodstream. That’s where they’re put together.

The fat in the food you eat plays no direct part in this. All fats are broken down to component fatty acids in the process of digestion, so you wouldn’t want a vitamin absorbed that early in the process. It’s only later, when the body builds the fats back up again for use, that absorption takes place.

You might notice that no vitamin pill ever instructs the user to eat fat at the same time. That’s not how it works.

[jz78817]

@Exapno_Mapcase

Vitamins are small enough to be absorbed through the epithelial cells lining the small intestine. Fat-soluble vitamins get diverted to the lymphatic system with the fats before entering the bloodstream. That’s where they’re put together.

The fat in the food you eat plays no direct part in this. All fats are broken down to component fatty acids in the process of digestion, so you wouldn’t want a vitamin absorbed that early in the process. It’s only later, when the body builds the fats back up again for use, that absorption takes place.

You might notice that no vitamin pill ever instructs the user to eat fat at the same time. That’s not how it works.

although some (like vitamin D) are delivered in solution with vegetable oil in a gel casing.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

@jz78817

although some (like vitamin D) are delivered in solution with vegetable oil in a gel casing.

Yes, but that’s mostly because it provides a better delivery system that protects the vitamin before taking it. Studies generally find no difference in absorption between powdered vitamin D and liquid vitamin D.

[x-ray_vision]

This study found that absorption of Vitamin D was increased significantly when taken with fat containing meals as compared to a fat-free meal. The Vitamin D dose was much higher than usually taken and after a 12 hour fast.

This was an earlier study using the same high dose. In this study a low fat meal resulted in higher Vitamin D absorption than both a high fat meal and no meal. D levels were similar in all groups after 30 and 90 days, but my guess is that taking D in one dose rather than daily was a factor.

[squish7]

Thanks for the info, EM, but I’m trying to harmonize it with what I’m now finding on the web, and what I’ve generally come to understand.
This article says this:
Quote:
Delicious Ways to Eat and Absorb Your Vitamins
Fat-Soluble: Like we mentioned, fat-soluble vitamins dissolve in fats and oils, which make it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients your body needs. Some ways you can incorporate the practice of pairing your fat-soluble vitamins with fats could include:
Scrambled eggs with butter
Baked sweet potato with a nut butter
Coconut oil on roasted veggies
Apricots and a handful of almonds
Olive oil drizzled on steamed broccoli

Thisis a simple Q/A where it’s asked if taking a fish capsule with vitamins will help, and the answer is that it will only help a little because it isn’t enough.
Quote >> studies which have shown increased absorption of fat-soluble vitamins have involved taking them with foods or meals containing fats. Most meals provide at least 5 grams of fat (the amount of fat in a single egg, for instance), while a tuna wrap with mayo can have 40 grams.
The article also confirms what x-ray said about vitamin-D
Quote >> In the case of vitamin D, taking it with a meal has increased absorption by 32% to 57% compared to taking it with just water. The bigger (and fattier) the meal, the better — at least for absorption!

Now this seems to both support and somewhat contradict what EM said; it says the intestine stuff, but it also says that eating almonds as a chaser to a multivitamin will help
Quote (my emphasis in bold) >> Dietary fat, which comes from the food you eat…When fat-soluble vitamins are ingested, they move from the mouth to the stomach to the small intestine. Their ability to dissolve in fat allows for their absorption: Fats are able to move across the cell walls of the small intestine and enter the body’s general circulation. Any vitamins dissolved in that fat are absorbed into the body as well. The dietary-fat vehicles carry the vitamins through the intestine, into the bloodstream, and then to the liver, where they’re stored until the body needs them…Without an adequate amount of fat in your diet, your body is unable to effectively absorb the fat-soluble vitamins that are essential to your health…So when you take that multivitamin in the morning, pop a few raw almonds in your mouth as a chaser. It’ll get those vitamins into position to do some good.

My personal multivitamin has 2 grams of fat.

I also have a argument to contradict EM’s point about vitamins not saying to take fat with them. While that may be true for vitamin supplements, it’s not true for food! Spinach, which has enormous A and a crapload of other vitamins, is usually taken with fat. For cooked we have creamed, buttered, and cheese spinach, or spinach eaten as a side to a whole meal (a meal generally contains fat). For raw spinach (and lettuce) in salad, it’s standard to have high-fat dressing. It’s also a pizza topping with tons of cheese… (I ate a whole pizza with extra spinach once and I think I noticed a difference in my eye pain the next day; I have a specific eye condition that can cause pain if I look at certain things).

We often have cooked vegetables with butter, and/or with a meal which contains fat… we’re just quite often eating fat with our fat-sol vegetables… and in lots of recipes…

EM >> The fat in the food you eat plays no direct part in this.
EM >> It’s only later, when the body builds the fats back up again for use, that absorption takes place.

Where is that fat coming from if not the fat we eat? Are you saying that we eat so much fat daily that we always have enough at any given time for this process to take place?

[x-ray_vision]

@squish7

Thanks for the info, EM, but I’m trying to harmonize it with what I’m now finding on the web, and what I’ve generally come to understand.
This article says this:
Quote:
Delicious Ways to Eat and Absorb Your Vitamins
Fat-Soluble: Like we mentioned, fat-soluble vitamins dissolve in fats and oils, which make it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients your body needs. Some ways you can incorporate the practice of pairing your fat-soluble vitamins with fats could include:
Scrambled eggs with butter
Baked sweet potato with a nut butter
Coconut oil on roasted veggies
Apricots and a handful of almonds
Olive oil drizzled on steamed broccoli

You do realize how many “articles” on the web get information regarding nutrition wrong, don’t you? Why try to harmonize, rather than just get correct info?

The article also confirms what x-ray said about vitamin-D
Quote >> In the case of vitamin D, taking it with a meal has increased absorption by 32% to 57% compared to taking it with just water. The bigger (and fattier) the meal, the better — at least for absorption!

No, it doesn’t. The study I posted that had both a low and high fat meal showed higher Vitamin D absorption for the low fat meal.

Neither study nullify what Exapno said. His explanation is correct. That doesn’t mean that taking any vitamin, fat soluble or not, won’t work better or worse than when taken with foods or certain foods. Nutrient absorption gets complicated. There could be other factors other than fat in meals that affect absorption. Obviously since a higher fat meal decreased absorption, there’s more going on.

Now this seems to both support and somewhat contradict what EM said; it says the intestine stuff, but it also says that eating almonds as a chaser to a multivitamin will help

Quote (my emphasis in bold) >> Dietary fat, which comes from the food you eat…When fat-soluble vitamins are ingested, they move from the mouth to the stomach to the small intestine. Their ability to dissolve in fat allows for their absorption: Fats are able to move across the cell walls of the small intestine and enter the body’s general circulation. Any vitamins dissolved in that fat are absorbed into the body as well. The dietary-fat vehicles carry the vitamins through the intestine, into the bloodstream, and then to the liver, where they’re stored until the body needs them…Without an adequate amount of fat in your diet, your body is unable to effectively absorb the fat-soluble vitamins that are essential to your health…So when you take that multivitamin in the morning, pop a few raw almonds in your mouth as a chaser. It’ll get those vitamins into position to do some good.

So, you’ve found something on the internet.

Part not in bold: Without an adequate amount of fat in your diet, your body is unable to effectively absorb the fat-soluble vitamins that are essential to your health

It’s not a scholarly article. Just because it said to pop something in your mouth as a chaser, it does not mean that sort of nutrient timing is necessary.

I also have a argument to contradict EM’s point about vitamins not saying to take fat with them. While that may be true for vitamin supplements, it’s not true for food! Spinach, which has enormous A and a crapload of other vitamins, is usually taken with fat. For cooked we have creamed, buttered, and cheese spinach, or spinach eaten as a side to a whole meal (a meal generally contains fat). For raw spinach (and lettuce) in salad, it’s standard to have high-fat dressing. It’s also a pizza topping with tons of cheese…

What does the fact that we eat vegetables with other stuff have to do with Exapno’s statement? We eat vegetables with fatty stuff because fatty stuff makes it taste better.

(I ate a whole pizza with extra spinach once and I think I noticed a difference in my eye pain the next day

You think you noticed a difference? Maybe it was the oregano. Correlation does not equal causation.

I have a specific eye condition that can cause pain if I look at certain things).

Stop looking at those things.

Where is that fat coming from if not the fat we eat? Are you saying that we eat so much fat daily that we always have enough at any given time for this process to take place?

Yes.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

Wellness blogs can range from to :eek: so I tend to avoid them. Consumer Lab and HowStuffWorks are pretty reputable, so I’m glad to see you checking out good stuff. You’d be surprised how seldom we see that here.

Here’s my take. Is there evidence that people normally don’t get sufficient absorption of vitamin D from supplements? Not to my knowledge. Taking a supplement provides the promised vitamin D. No solid clinical evidence says otherwise. Can you increase absorption nevertheless? The best answer is, maybe.

Will it do you any harm to eat some almonds with a supplement, as HowStuffWorks suggests? Hard to imagine. I wouldn’t bother but I also wouldn’t bother taking vitamin D supplements. The evidence for them doing any good is also lacking.