Dr John Lodge from the School of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences at the University of Surrey says that recent findings on vitamin E absorption show that consumers will see little benefit from taking the supplements with a low-fat meal.
Dr Lodge and his team report in this month's British Journal of Nutrition (92, 1-6) that the absorption of vitamin E into the blood stream was minimal when taken with only a glass of water or with cereal and semi-skimmed milk.
"There was no increase in plasma levels of the vitamin after nine hours when the subjects took the supplement with water or cereal and semi-skimmed milk. The absorption rate was better when taken with cereal and full-fat milk or cream but the best response came when taken with a meal of toast and butter," Dr Lodge told NutraIngredients.com.
This is probably due to the components of the food, he suggested, as both the cereal and full-fat milk meal and the toast and butter meal contained the same amount of fat (17.5g).
Some research suggests that vitamin E supplements can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease but the findings, which confirm previous studies, suggest that a low-fat diet, typically recommended to people with heart disease risk, could reduce the efficacy of the supplement.
"This research is significant as it shows that people following a healthy, low-fat diet may not immediately be getting the same coronary protection as they might expect from their vitamin E supplements," said Dr Lodge.
Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (vol 79, no 1, 86-92) earlier this year underlined the difference in vitamin E bioavailability from fortified cereals and capsules. A recent study has also underlined that carotenoids are better absorbed with higher fat meals.
"There's no doubt that supplements work but there should be some suggestions on how to take them to maximize long-term efficacy," said Dr Lodge.
However Alice Bradshaw, education manager at Solgar UK, pointed out that a significant number of vitamin E supplements come in the form of softgels, providing the oil required for absorption.
She added: "Food supplements should be taken with a meal anyway, and all of our products advise this on the label. Most meals have some component of fat and I would hope that consumers conscious of heart health know that there are good fats too that should be included in their diet."
Vitamin is the second biggest selling vitamin after C and is the subject of ongoing research into its health properties.