Fortified Is Not the Same as Absorbed
Putting a nutrient into a product gets it onto the label. Whether it gets into a person is a separate question, and it does not always go the way the label implies.
This 8 week randomized trial swapped 89 adults' main protein source and then measured what actually showed up in their blood. Vitamin B12 and folate made the jump. Calcium and iron did not.
THE STUDY
- Title: Micronutrient intake and status of adults consuming plant-based meat analogues or animal-based meats as primary protein source: An 8-week randomized controlled trial
- Journal: Clinical Nutrition, 2026, volume 59, article 106610
- Authors: Fu AS, Osman F, Cameron-Smith D, Lam NYL, Mehta KA, Leow MK, Haldar S, Henry CJ, Toh DWK, of the Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Singapore
- Design: Parallel design randomized controlled trial, registered as NCT05446753
- Read it: PubMed 41785660
WHO WAS IN IT
89 Singaporean adults, randomized to one of two diets for 8 weeks: 45 to animal based meats, 44 to the matching plant based meat analogues. Vitamin B12 and folate intake and status were the primary outcomes, which is unusual and welcome. Most diet-swap studies measure weight and treat micronutrients as an afterthought.
WHAT THEY TOOK
Participants replaced their usual protein rich foods with fixed quantities of either animal based meats or the corresponding plant based analogues, protein matched between groups. Intake was tracked with 3 day food records and checked against blood biomarkers, with bone density measured by DEXA.
WHAT THEY FOUND
- Plasma vitamin B12 at week 8 was higher on the plant based diet: 382.56 pmol/L versus 357.76 pmol/L (p = 0.004)
- Folate was higher too: 32.13 nmol/L versus 23.62 nmol/L (p = 0.003), as was selenium at 1.61 versus 1.57 micromol/L (p = 0.006)
- Intake rose across the board on the plant based diet for thiamine, folate, vitamin B6, sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron
- But calcium and iron never showed up in the blood. Higher intake, no observable change in circulating status. This is the finding worth carrying around
- Bone density showed what the paper calls a marginal change in the plant based group (0.06 g/cm2, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.12, p = 0.030), with no significant effect on the bone turnover markers that would normally corroborate it
The authors' conclusion carries its hedge in the open: fortification of certain micronutrients like folate and vitamin B12 "may improve the nutritional status," while calcium and iron supplementation "did not translate to observable changes in circulating micronutrient status."
WHAT IT DOES NOT SHOW
- 89 people, 8 weeks. Small and short. A B12 difference at two months is not a statement about two years
- This is not a deficiency correction. The abstract does not report how many participants were low in B12 at baseline, so read this as a difference between two fed groups, not as evidence about fixing a deficiency
- Singaporean adults. Baseline diets differ by country, and a nutrient gap somewhere else is not automatically your nutrient gap
- The bone signal is thin by the authors' own framing. They call the density change marginal, the turnover markers did not move with it, and the sex specific finding in women is described as suggested rather than shown
- Fortified food is not a supplement. Different matrix, different amounts, different absorption. This trial tells you something about the principle, not about any particular pill or gummy
- Funding: the authors reported no conflicts of interest
WHY IT IS ON THIS SHELF
Two reasons, and the second one cuts toward us as much as anything.
First, our formula is vegan, and B12 is the nutrient a plant forward eater is most often told to watch. A trial with B12 status as a primary outcome in exactly that context is directly on our beat.
Second, the honest lesson here is a caution about supplements generally, ours included: adding a nutrient to a product does not guarantee it reaches your bloodstream. In this trial B12 and folate made that jump and calcium and iron did not, in the same foods, in the same people, over the same eight weeks. That is a good reason to be skeptical of any label, and a good reason we point at third party testing rather than asking you to take our word for what is in the bag.
Each four gummy serving of Vybrance Labs creatine gummies carries 120mcg of vitamin B12 as methylcobalamin, alongside 5g of creatine monohydrate and 500mg of taurine.
The Lab covers what low B12 actually feels like, and how to get it checked, in vitamin B12 and your brain.
see you in the wild!
-Lawrence
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Nothing on this page is medical advice. Reference: PMID 41785660, DOI 10.1016/j.clnu.2026.106610.
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