The power of micronutrients

You may know the importance of macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat), but micronutrients are just as important. Micronutrients refer to vitamins and minerals. They’re responsible for some pretty big roles in our body: energy production, DNA repair, immune function, metabolism, and many many more. So, it’s safe to say that we need to pay attention to our food choices in order to maximize the amount of micronutrients we take in each day. Let’s go over some basics of each micronutrient and food sources for each so you know exactly what to eat to ensure optimal levels of each micronutrient.

First, let’s go over vitamins:

There are two categories of vitamins: water-soluble (Vitamin C and all B vitamins) and fat-soluble (Vitamin A, D, E, and K). Water-soluble are in-fact soluble in water, and easily excreted by your body. They’re easily excreted, meaning we require larger amounts of them to keep levels optimal. Fat-soluble vitamins, on the other hand, must be absorbed in the presence of fat and are not as easily excreted by the body. This is a reason why it’s important to be careful with supplementation of the fat-soluble vitamins as they can load up to toxic levels in excess amounts. 

Next, let’s talk about minerals:

The two categories of minerals include: trace minerals (iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, iodine, and selenium) and macrominerals (calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, sulfur, potassium, sodium, and chloride). Trace minerals are called trace because they are not needed in more than 100mg/day, while macrominerals are needed in more than 100 mg/day. This gives us a sense of which minerals to focus on when choosing foods because we most likely are getting enough trace minerals in our day and less likely getting enough macrominerals in our day.

Now that we have a background on the micronutrients, let’s list some foods that will make sure you have a well-rounded diet of micronutrients.

Vitamins:

·      Vitamin A: meats, fish, carrots, mangoes, sweet potatoes (it’s important to note that animal sources of vitamin A are more bioavailable than plant sources)

·      B Vitamins: meats, seafood, grains, eggs, milk/dairy

·      Vitamin C: citrus, tomatoes, peppers, kiwi, broccoli, strawberries

·      Vitamin D: salmon, mushrooms, sunlight

·      Vitamin E: sunflower seeds, almonds, hazelnuts tomatoes, olive oil

·      Vitamin K: leafy greens, broccoli, fermented foods

Minerals: Since we need to focus more on macrominerals on a daily basis, we are only going to focus on those food sources

·      Magnesium: dark leafy greens, almonds, whole grains, dark chocolate

·      Calcium: dark leafy greens, dairy, figs, almonds

·      Potassium: potatoes, avocados, milk, dried fruits

·      Sodium: sea salt, or Himalayan salt meats, seafood, eggs, dairy

·      Chloride: sea salt, tomatoes, seaweed, celery, olives

·      Sulfur: eggs, cruciferous veggies, meats

·      Phosphorous: dairy, tofu, nuts/seeds, meats and seafood

If you’re looking for extra support and how to optimize your micronutrient levels on a daily basis, click here to book a free consultation and we can start your journey!