Dietary surveys on a population at Shipham, Somerset, United Kingdom

Objective: The study aimed to determine the potential of compliance with Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) and increased vitamin D fortification to meet the recommended intake level of vitamin D at 10 µg/day based on minimal exposure to sunlight. Methods: The main dietary sources of vitamin D were derived from national dietary surveys in adults from United Kingdom (UK) (n = 911), Netherlands (NL) (n = 1,526), and Sweden (SE) (n = 974). The theoretical increase in population vitamin D intake was simulated for the following: (1) compliance with FBDG, (2) increased level of vitamin D in commonly fortified foods, and (3) combination of both. Results: Median usual vitamin D intake was 2.4 (interquartile range 1.7-3.4) µg/day in UK, 3.4 (2.7-4.2) µg/day in NL, and 5.3 (3.9-7.3) µg/day in SE. The top 3 dietary sources of vitamin D were fish, fat-based spreads (margarines), and meat. Together, these delivered up to two-thirds of total vitamin D intake on average. Compliance with FBDG for fish, margarine, and meat increased vitamin D intake to 4.6 (4.1-5.1) µg/day in UK, 5.2 (4.9-5.5) µg/day in NL, and 7.7 (7.0-8.5) µg/day in SE. Doubling the vitamin D levels in margarines and milk would increase vitamin D intake to 4.9 (3.6-6.5) µg/day in UK, 6.6 (4.8-8.6) µg/day in NL, and 7.2 (5.2-9.8) µg/day in SE. Combining both scenarios would increase vitamin D intake to 7.9 (6.8-9.2) µg/day in UK, 8.8 (7.4-10.4) µg/day in NL, and 8.9 (6.9-11.8) µg/day in SE. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential of dietary measures to double the current vitamin D intake in adults.

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Dietary Iron Intake in Women of Reproductive Age in Europe: A Review of 49 Studies from 29 Countries in the Period 1993–2015

Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism ◽

10.1155/2019/7631306 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nils Thorm Milman

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Iron Status ◽

Heme Iron ◽

Reproductive Age ◽

Dietary Iron ◽

Iron Intake ◽

Women Of Reproductive Age ◽

Nutrient Density ◽

Dietary Reference Values ◽

Dietary Surveys

Objective. Assessment of dietary iron intake in women of reproductive age in Europe. Design. Review. Setting. Literature search of dietary surveys reporting intake of iron using PubMed, Internet browsers, and national nutrient databases in the period 1993–2015. Subjects. Women of reproductive age. Results. 49 dietary surveys/studies in 29 European countries were included. Belgium, Bosnia, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Northern Ireland, Serbia, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom/England, and Wales reported a median/mean iron intake of 7.6–9.9 mg/day. Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Spain reported an intake of 10.0–10.7 mg/day. Austria, Estonia, France, and Russia reported an intake of 11.0–11.9 mg/day. Latvia and Germany reported an intake of 12.0–12.2 mg/day. Croatia, Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovakia reported an intake of 15.9–19.0 mg/day. The percentage of dietary iron consisting of heme iron, reported in 7 studies, varied from 4.3% in United Kingdom to 25% in Spain. Nutrient density for iron (mg iron/10 MJ, median/mean) varied from 11.8 in Sweden to 23.0 in Lithuania. The correlation between nutrient density and dietary iron was significant (p=0.0006). In most countries, the majority of women had a dietary iron intake below 15 mg/day. In Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, and Sweden, 91–95% of women had an intake below 15 mg/day. In Ireland and Germany, 61–78% had an intake below 15 mg/day. Conclusions. In Europe, 61–97% of women have a dietary iron intake below 15 mg/day. This contributes to a low iron status in many women. We need common European standardized dietary methods, uniform dietary reference values, and uniform statistical methods to perform intercountry comparisons.

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