LAUSR

Vitamin D is a key nutrient for health. Recent research has shown that it is not only necessary for the maintenance of bone health, but also for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, insulin resistance, respiratory diseases, infections, and cancer, among others. Solar synthesis of vitamin D is usually insufficient, so it is necessary to provide enough vitamin D through the diet in order to maintain an adequate nutritional status. Studies carried out in Spain and other countries have shown that serum levels of the vitamin were usually insufficient and that average dietary intakes were well below those marked as recommended, while main food sources of vitamin D were fatty fish, breakfast cereals, eggs, and dairy. Food sources of vitamin D are scarce, and it is naturally located in the fatty part of foods of animal origin, and in liver and viscera. Fortifying foods that are not naturally food sources of in vitamin D but are regularly consumed by a significant percentage of the population, is a strategy that could help to increase vitamin D intake. In this regard, dairy products and breakfast cereals are two of the most widely used food matrices for vitamin D fortification, and their incorporation into the usual diet has proven to be an effective strategy to improve the nutritional situation of the population in vitamin D.