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Spreads with vitamin D

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Nocton
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Spreads with vitamin D

#267571

Postby Nocton » November 27th, 2019, 9:23 am

I have noticed recently that several spreads/"margarines"/Flora/etc. have removed had their dairy ingredient removed in order to cater for the vegan fad. At the same time, rather astonishingly since vegan diets tend to be low in vitamin D, the added vitamin D has been removed. Flora is particularly deceitful in that they sell a dairy-free alternative 'Flora Dairy Free', which is clear labelling, but their 'Flora Original' has also had its recipe changed o be dairy-free. This is disgraceful - to call something original but completely reformulate it. It says on their web site that the product has been approved by the Vegan Society, so I can only assume that the Society assumes that all vegans will be taking artificial supplements to boost their levels of B12 and D, which are seriously deficient in vegan diets. (A looming long-term health problem?). As older people will know, in the past all margarines - they were 80% fat then and not lower-fat spreads - were supplemented with vitamins as part of the government's efforts to ensure that we all, especially children, ate a healthy diet.
My question is prompted because my wife and I have just noticed that our Tesco sunflower Spread is now also dairy and Vitamin D free and declared suitable for vegans, without any warning or advice to the customer, except that we now see that a Vegan symbol has appeared on the label.
Does anyone know of a spread which still contains dairy and/or is supplemented with vitamin D?

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#267573

Postby Howyoudoin » November 27th, 2019, 9:30 am

Nocton wrote:I have noticed recently that several spreads/"margarines"/Flora/etc. have removed had their dairy ingredient removed in order to cater for the vegan fad. At the same time, rather astonishingly since vegan diets tend to be low in vitamin D, the added vitamin D has been removed. Flora is particularly deceitful in that they sell a dairy-free alternative 'Flora Dairy Free', which is clear labelling, but their 'Flora Original' has also had its recipe changed o be dairy-free. This is disgraceful - to call something original but completely reformulate it. It says on their web site that the product has been approved by the Vegan Society, so I can only assume that the Society assumes that all vegans will be taking artificial supplements to boost their levels of B12 and D, which are seriously deficient in vegan diets. (A looming long-term health problem?). As older people will know, in the past all margarines - they were 80% fat then and not lower-fat spreads - were supplemented with vitamins as part of the government's efforts to ensure that we all, especially children, ate a healthy diet.
My question is prompted because my wife and I have just noticed that our Tesco sunflower Spread is now also dairy and Vitamin D free and declared suitable for vegans, without any warning or advice to the customer, except that we now see that a Vegan symbol has appeared on the label.
Does anyone know of a spread which still contains dairy and/or is supplemented with vitamin D?


Butter.

It contains loads of both.

HYD

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#267591

Postby vrdiver » November 27th, 2019, 10:16 am

Nocton wrote:Does anyone know of a spread which still contains dairy and/or is supplemented with vitamin D?


Flora ProActive might be a suitable choice (https://floraproactiv.co.uk/products/fl ... iv-spreads )

Alternatively, Yeo Valley https://www.yeovalley.co.uk/things-we-m ... spreadable uses milk and rapeseed oil.

VRD

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#267983

Postby Stonge » November 28th, 2019, 4:38 pm

Heavenly Buttery from Lidl

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#267997

Postby ReformedCharacter » November 28th, 2019, 5:21 pm

Since reading this from the British Nutritional Foundation:

According to national surveys in the UK, across the population approximately 1 in 5 people have low vitamin D levels (defined as serum levels below 25 nmol/L). Low vitamin D levels are associated with a higher risk of poor musculoskeletal health such as rickets, osteomalacia, falls and poor muscle strength.

- and bearing in mind my own circumstances - I've been taking a Vitamin D supplement every day. I buy them from Amazon and they cost me about £12 a year.

RC

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268004

Postby johnhemming » November 28th, 2019, 5:52 pm

I also go for Vitamin D (currently 3000iu d3).

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268118

Postby Nocton » November 29th, 2019, 12:11 pm

Thanks for all the replies.
Investigating it further I find that Bertolli is fortified with A & D to give one's daily requirements of both. I also find that Stork, which we use for baking, is fortified to the same extent. It also has 70% fat and a milk component, so it actually has a good flavour; so we shall probably go with that or Bertolli.
We should prefer not to take pills/supplements, which in any case are always found to perform less well than food. We eat plenty of oily fish, liver, dairy and eggs too.
We use butter occasionally, but it does not spread easily unless kept out of the fridge and does not have the polyunsaturated fatty acids we get from spreads. It is also, like Yeo Valley and Flora Proactive, rather expensive - at least twice as much as ordinary spreads. Heavenly Buttery does not seem to contain any Vitamin D, according to what I can find on the web.

What I find amazing is that, as ReformedCharacter notes, many people in the UK suffer from a Vitamin D deficiency, yet fortification of spreads has declined. Maybe there is a connection?

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268120

Postby Bouleversee » November 29th, 2019, 12:15 pm

I'd be interested to know whether the instructions accompanying your Vit D supplements say that they are fat soluble and should be taken with your main meal of the day, as did the ones I was prescribed (crash course of 40,000 iu per day for a week, followed by lower maintenance dose) when at my own request I had various blood tests and discovered my Vit D level was <20 nmol/L, seriously low. I get my regular supplements from Healthspan and they just say "take with water" but I have read various articles which say they should be taken with a meal as they are fat soluble.

Vit D deficiency is associated with many conditions (in addition to those already mentioned) including MS, diabetes, decreased immunity, memory loss and according to research articles I have read on the internet, mostly from reputable institutions in the US, it is also associated with lung diseases such as asthma and pulmonary fibrosis with which, by coincidence or not, I have recently been diagnosed. It is yet to be established, however, which is cause and which effect. UK respiratory consultants seem to unware or are sceptical of any such connection. I tried to get involved in research into this but have not been able to discover any in progress in this country where the emphasis always seems to be on treatment rather than prevention. It is beyond my comprehension why we are not tested for deficiencies from time to time or at least when one complains of fatigue or other symptoms. Watch out for Vit B and iron deficiencies now less red meat is being eaten. TBH I thought that was more likely to be my problem than Vit D.

The sun is the best source and oily fish and egg yolks are the best food sources; as I consume a lot of those and am perforce outside a lot attending to my large garden and took the odd supplement during the winter (overdosing can cause toxity) I was very surprised to find my level was so low. Some cereals have Vit D added but whereas it is added to milk in the US, it is not added in the UK, though there is talk of adding it to bread. So far as I can gather, there is less Vit D in dairy products than I had expected which is disappointing as I drink a lot of milk and eat a lot of yoghurt. As regards spreads, Lurpak does a spreadable butter but I prefer their ordinary one. I don't buy other spreads or margarine. I don't know whether taking cod-liver oil is as good as or better than the supplements in pill form.

There was an interesting Horizon programme about the pros and cons of vitamins and what one could get from diet on BBC2 on Wednesday evg. at 11.15 ("Vitamin Pills - Miracle or Myth"). I need to get it on I-Player as it went on for an hr. and I fell asleep at one point but I think it mentioned that antioxidants weren't recommended any longer.

I may pick up some more useful info. when I finally get to see a specialist in my variety of IPF (UIP) on January 23, but don't count on it. It will be interesting to see whether she has even heard of the possible Vit D connection.

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268122

Postby johnhemming » November 29th, 2019, 12:21 pm

The D3 I take comes in little oil capsules which I presume have dissolved it. Hence I don't think it also needs to be taken with food as it is already dissolved in some oil.

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268123

Postby Bouleversee » November 29th, 2019, 12:25 pm

johnhemming wrote:The D3 I take comes in little oil capsules which I presume have dissolved it. Hence I don't think it also needs to be taken with food as it is already dissolved in some oil.


That sounds sensible. Who makes them? The ones I had prescribed were dry tablets.

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268128

Postby johnhemming » November 29th, 2019, 12:36 pm

These are 10000iu, but they also do 3000iu
https://nuunutrition.com/products/vitam ... ear-supply

My main focus is on improving sleep and I have concluded that taking these in the morning is better than 6000iu.

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268129

Postby Bouleversee » November 29th, 2019, 12:47 pm

Thanks, JH. Even 3000 iu is rather a high dose unless deficiency has been established. I am taking 1000 iu now my level is normal. I hadn't heard of it being used as a sleeping aid.

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268162

Postby Stonge » November 29th, 2019, 4:35 pm

Nocton wrote: Heavenly Buttery does not seem to contain any Vitamin D, according to what I can find on the web.


According to the bottom of the tub I bought from Lidl last week, a portion of HB gives 150% of RDA of Vitamin D.

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268163

Postby swill453 » November 29th, 2019, 4:47 pm

Stonge wrote:
Nocton wrote: Heavenly Buttery does not seem to contain any Vitamin D, according to what I can find on the web.

According to the bottom of the tub I bought from Lidl last week, a portion of HB gives 150% of RDA of Vitamin D.

What's the portion size for that?

Scott.

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268224

Postby 77ss » November 30th, 2019, 12:06 am

Bouleversee wrote:
johnhemming wrote:The D3 I take comes in little oil capsules which I presume have dissolved it. Hence I don't think it also needs to be taken with food as it is already dissolved in some oil.


That sounds sensible. Who makes them? The ones I had prescribed were dry tablets.


I've been taking Cod Liver Oil capsules for years. 5 micrograms of Vit D - as well as a number of other goodies. Sainsbury's.

A Norwegian study indicates that there is little difference in blood serum levels of cholecalciferol whether one takes multivitamin tablets or fish oil capsules:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/174 ... t=Abstract

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268237

Postby johnhemming » November 30th, 2019, 8:24 am

Its a helpful study, but does not indicate whether the D is taken with a meal, snack or nothing.

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268248

Postby 77ss » November 30th, 2019, 11:10 am

johnhemming wrote:Its a helpful study, but does not indicate whether the D is taken with a meal, snack or nothing.


True - but there are only so many variables one can deal with in any small trial.

From the paper itself:

The participants were recommended to take the tablet or capsule with a glass of water. Although meal composition and time since last meal are expected to influence absorption of vitamin D from supplements, subjects were not instructed to standardise meals or time between meals and taking supplements. This was done to minimise interference with daily routines of subjects and thus maximise compliance with taking supplements.

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268252

Postby johnhemming » November 30th, 2019, 11:53 am

The difficulty, however, is that it does not answer the question as to whether some fat is needed for absorption.

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268277

Postby Nocton » November 30th, 2019, 2:42 pm

swill453 wrote:
Stonge wrote:
Nocton wrote: Heavenly Buttery does not seem to contain any Vitamin D, according to what I can find on the web.

According to the bottom of the tub I bought from Lidl last week, a portion of HB gives 150% of RDA of Vitamin D.

What's the portion size for that?

Scott.

I don't know what the portion size is for 'heavenly Buttery', but for 'Bertolli' and 'Stork', the fortified products I referred to, it says:
Vit A (100% NRV) 800µg
Vit D (150% NRV) 7.5µg
which are OK and close to UK/EU recommendations, BUT I now see that it refers to per 100g. So as for a spread 10-20g per day is a normal portion, i.e 10-20% of recommended requirement. One thing that is stated is that the UK daily Safe Upper/Guidance Level for Vit D is 25µg, so be careful of overdosing if you eat a healthy, mixed omnivore diet, plus vitamin supplements.

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Re: Spreads with vitamin D

#268286

Postby Bouleversee » November 30th, 2019, 3:43 pm

N.B. Be careful to check when you buy products or supplements whether the dosage/contents are quoted in iu or ug/micrograms as there is a big difference.

The oral adult dose of vitamin D-3, or cholecalciferol, used to treat vitamin D insufficiency is 400 to 1000 international units, or IU, once a day, according to Drugs.com. 1 IU = 0.025 mcg cholecalciferol (vitamin D3


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