5.1. Vitamin and Mineral Blood Levels
Before discussing whether differences were observed among different types of MVM supplements, it is important to understand that differences in vitamin and mineral levels in the blood only suggest that absorption rates differ. Higher levels could mean that the source is not taken up as quickly into tissue, while lower levels could mean that less appears in the blood because absorption into tissue is faster [With that in mind, analysis of vitamin and mineral content in the blood after ingestion of the MVM supplements clearly indicated that ingesting a liposomal MVM supplement can affect the rate of appearance and/or clearance of some vitamins and minerals. In this regard, there was an overall interaction effect between the treatments, indicating that coating a MVM with liposomes altered the normal pharmacokinetic profiles. We believe this is the first study to show an overall impact of ingesting a liposomal MVM supplement on the blood levels of a number of vitamins and minerals. However, we also observed differences between treatments in the rate and/or magnitude of increase above baseline values over time in vitamins A, E, and C as well as calcium, iron, and magnesium (see The results also support recent findings from Tinsley and colleagues [