Fat Soluble Vitamins

Fat Soluble Vitamins

Fat-soluble vitamins are most abundant in high-fat foods and are much better absorbed into your bloodstream when you eat them with fat.

The fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K, are stored in the body for long periods of time and generally pose a greater risk for toxicity when consumed in excess than water-soluble vitamins. Eating a normal, well-balanced diet will not lead to toxicity in otherwise healthy individuals. However, taking vitamin supplements that contain megadoses of vitamins A, D, E and K may lead to toxicity. The body only needs small amounts of any vitamin.

The fat-soluble vitamins are soluble in lipids (fats). These vitamins are usually absorbed in fat globules (called chylomicrons) that travel through the lymphatic system of the small intestines and into the general blood circulation within the body.

The body does not need these vitamins every day, as unlike water-soluble vitamins that need regular replacement in the body, fat-soluble vitamins are stored by the body for future use. They are stored mainly in the liver and fatty tissues. While it serves us well be able to build up a store of these vitamins so that they are there when we need them, if we consume more than we need it leads to toxicity. 

The body can be deficient in the fat-soluble vitamins if fat intake is too low or if fat absorption is compromised, for example, by certain drugs that interfere with the absorption of fat from the intestine or by certain diseases such as cystic fibrosis in which there is a deficiency of enzymes from the pancreas which similarly interferes with the absorption of fat from the intestine. 

Fat-soluble vitamins are found mainly in fatty foods such as animal fats, including butter and lard, vegetable oils, dairy foods, liver and oily fish. You might also be interested to know that, unlike water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins are not destroyed by the cooking process.

Fat Soluble Vitamins

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