- Many adults take a vitamin D supplement.
- Your eating habits can increase or decrease your body’s ability to absorb vitamin D.
- Experts explain which foods to eat separately from a vitamin D supplement and what to pair them with instead.
If you’re taking a vitamin D supplement, you’re far from alone. An estimated 18.5% of American adults report taking a vitamin D supplement, not counting those who take a multivitamin containing this vitamin. If you’re taking your supplement and still having trouble getting your levels up, you may be wondering if what you eat alongside it makes a difference in how your body absorbs the vitamin.
While you don’t need to cut foods out of your diet to get the most out of your vitamin D supplement, certain dietary habits can influence how your body absorbs vitamin D or maintains healthy levels. Keep reading to learn which foods experts suggest eating separately from your vitamin D supplement and what to pair with it instead.
1. Black coffee
Many people take supplements first thing in the morning, often with a glass of water or a cup of black coffee. But black coffee alone won’t promote maximum absorption of your vitamin D supplement.
“The first food I would avoid pairing with your vitamin D supplement is a meal with no fat at all,” says Danielle Oncer, Pharm.D. “This is because vitamin D is fat-soluble (meaning it dissolves in fat rather than water), so your body absorbs it better when there’s a little fat in your meal at the same time.”
Although taking your supplement with a fat-free meal may reduce absorption, coffee consumption may also be associated with vitamin D levels. Research suggests that people who consume larger amounts of caffeine may have lower vitamin D levels, although more research is needed to determine whether there is a direct link between the two.
For better absorption, enjoy a cup of coffee with avocado toast or a vegetable scrambled egg while you take your supplement.
2. Legumes
Beans, lentils, chickpeas and soy are nutrient-rich plant proteins, rich in fiber and valuable micronutrients and antioxidants. But they also contain compounds called phytates that can bind to minerals such as calcium, making it harder for your body to absorb them. Since one of vitamin D’s main roles is to help your body absorb calcium, you may be wondering if taking your supplement with legumes could affect its benefits.
“It’s helpful to avoid mixing foods high in phytates, such as beans, with a vitamin D supplement,” says Erin Person, MS, RD. “Although phytates do not directly intercept vitamin D, they limit the absorption of calcium, which works with vitamin D to support bone health.”
However, you should in no case avoid legumes. Phytates affect calcium absorption rather than directly blocking vitamin D absorption, but it may help to eat your legume-rich meal an hour or two before or after taking your vitamin D supplement. If you are taking a combined calcium and vitamin D supplement or have concerns about your calcium intake, consult your health care provider.
3. Spinach
Spinach is a rich source of antioxidants, vitamin K and iron, but it is also high in oxalic acid, a compound also found in other foods like collard greens, sweet potatoes and rhubarb. Oxalic acid binds to calcium in your gut to form salts that your body cannot digest, thereby reducing the amount of calcium your body absorbs.
If you’re prone to kidney stones, you’ve probably heard of oxalates a time or two. Oxalates absorbed by your body can travel to your kidneys, where they combine with calcium to form crystals that, over time, can turn into calcium oxalate kidney stones.
But if you’re taking vitamin D to improve your bone health, taking it with foods high in oxalates may work against you. While vitamin D promotes calcium absorption, oxalates can reduce the amount of calcium your body absorbs from certain foods. This is especially relevant if you take a combined calcium and vitamin D supplement or rely on your meal to provide calcium.
You don’t have to limit spinach or other oxalate-rich foods unless your doctor recommends it, but taking your supplement separately from a big spinach salad or green smoothie can help.
4. Alcohol
Unlike coffee, spinach, or beans, when it comes to vitamin D, the timing of your cocktail isn’t as important as how much you drink. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to liver damage, and your liver plays an important role in converting vitamin D into a form your body can use. Some forms of liver disease can also make it harder for your body to absorb fats, as well as fat-soluble vitamins, like vitamin D.
Research suggests that heavy alcohol consumption may be associated with lower vitamin D levels. Alcohol-related liver damage, low nutrient intake, and other factors may contribute to this relationship, making it difficult to identify a cause.
If you drink, it’s a good idea to consider limiting your intake, which generally means one drink or less per day for women and two drinks or less per day for men.
Potential symptoms of a reaction
Unlike some drug or supplement interactions, consuming these foods with your vitamin D supplement will not cause symptoms that you notice immediately. If your vitamin D levels don’t improve despite taking a supplement, several factors could be to blame, including your dose, how often you take it, and whether an underlying health problem is affecting absorption.
“This is a silent problem that shows up weeks or months later as a vitamin D level that does not improve on a 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test (the standard lab used to check your vitamin D levels),” says Oncer. “If poor absorption lasts long enough to cause a true deficiency, adults can develop osteomalacia (soft, weak bones), which can cause bone pain and muscle weakness, but this is a slow process.”
The biggest risk from vitamin D supplements comes from taking too much, not too little. As a fat-soluble vitamin, vitamin D is stored in fatty tissues and can reach dangerous levels if taken in too much in supplement form. “Too much vitamin D increases the calcium level in your blood (hypercalcemia), which can cause nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, muscle weakness, confusion, dehydration, excessive thirst and urination, kidney stones, and, at extremely high levels, irregular heartbeat,” says Oncer. If you notice any of these symptoms while taking a vitamin D supplement, it is important to talk to your healthcare provider and seek medical attention.
Our expert opinion
Vitamin D is safe to take with most foods, but some can make your supplement less effective. Legumes and spinach contain compounds that bind to calcium, reducing the benefits of vitamin D on bones. A fat-free start to the day, with just a cup of coffee, can also limit the amount of vitamin D you absorb. Researchers have linked high caffeine consumption to lower vitamin D levels, but the reason isn’t entirely clear, as excessive alcohol consumption can make it harder for your body to absorb and use vitamin D. For best results, take your supplement with a meal or snack containing fat, such as eggs, avocado, or full-fat yogurt, and save the beans and spinach for another meal. And if you’re not sure whether your supplement is working, consult your healthcare provider before increasing your dose yourself.
Gn Health
