Multivitamin supplementation of adult omnivores and lactovegetarians: circulating levels of vitamin A, D and E, lipids, apolipoproteins and selenium.

Serum levels of fat-soluble vitamins, lipids, apolipoproteins, total protein, hemoglobin, iron, and selenium were determined in healthy Finnish adults during a 7-month period beginning in January and ending in August. The subjects were either omnivores or established lactovegetarians, who had consumed their respective diets for at least 6 months prior to the study. Half of the subjects in both groups received daily multivitamin supplementation and the other half served as controls. In the beginning, the lactovegetarians differed from the omnivores in having lower serum levels of protein, apolipoproteins A-I and C-II, and higher levels of standardized alpha-tocopherol. During the study, serum retinol and standardized alpha-tocopherol (in March and May), as well as apolipoproteins A-I and C-II, and selenium decreased in the omnivores and 25-hydroxyvitamin D2, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and the HDL-cholesterol/cholesterol ratio increased. Apolipoprotein B decreased and then increased. In the lactovegetarians, serum selenium and protein decreased during the study, whereas retinol and alpha-tocopherol stayed higher than in the omnivores. Consumption of the lactovegetarian diet was accompanied by lower circulating levels of cholesterol and selenium and higher levels of retinol and standardized alpha-tocopherol than the mixed diet. Multivitamin supplementation may have value especially for omnivores in northern countries, like Finland, in providing better retinol, alpha-tocopherol, vitamin D, and selenium status in late winter and early spring.