Taking your vitamin D supplement with the largest meal of the day may boost its absorption substantially, according to a new study. Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic instructed 17 men and women, average age 64, whose blood levels of vitamin D were borderline insufficient despite taking supplements, to take their supplements with the largest meal of the day. After two or three months, the study participants had about a 50% increase in blood levels of the vitamin, regardless of the dose they took. Researchers Guy B. Mulligan, MD, and Angelo Licata, MD, had noticed that patients typically report taking the supplement either on an empty stomach or with a light meal. Because the vitamin is fat-soluble, the researchers speculated that taking it with a big meal would improve absorption. Vitamin D is crucial not only to maintain bone strength, but research now suggests it plays a role in immune system problems, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. The researchers measured blood levels of the vitamin at the start of the study and two or three months later. Participants took a range of doses, and the researchers divided them into three groups: less than 50,000 IU a […]