Eat Your Vitamins – On a Plate

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Eat Your Vitamins – On a Plate

 

 

by Beth Gold, R.D.

As meals on the run become the norm rather than the

exception, it's often a victory simply to achieve the

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamins and

minerals. But it's worth remembering that how you get

to the RDA matters, too.

 

While many of us take a daily multivitamin/mineral

supplement to meet our RDAs - and it is a good idea

for nutritional " insurance " - it pays to make the

effort to get more of your vitamins and minerals from

food.

 

By eating a balanced diet - including protein from

plant (soy foods, nuts, seeds, legumes) and/or animal

(fish and lean poultry) sources, colorful fruits,

vegetables, and whole grains - you get

disease-fighting benefits that you just can't mimic in

supplements.

 

Don't Give Up the Phytochemicals

 

Fruits, vegetables and whole grains deliver an array

of phytochemicals - natural plant compounds that,

along with vitamins and minerals, work to help keep

you healthy. Phytochemicals are abundant in the

pigments of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

 

Here are a few powerhouse foods that provide all or a

substantial percentage of the RDA for specific

vitamins and minerals, and help fight diseases, too.

 

Jump-Start Your Balanced Diet

 

Foods that provide at least 50% of the RDA for

selected nutrients.

 

1 cup cantaloupe cubes

190% RDA for vitamin C

103% RDA for beta-carotene

 

1 cup frozen, chopped, cooked broccoli*

136% RDA for vitamin C

 

1 cup frozen cooked spinach*

295% RDA for beta-carotene

 

1 medium baked sweet potato, peeled

50% RDA for beta-carotene

 

1 cup whole-grain fortified cereal

188% RDA for iron (men), 83% (women)

or 100% all B vitamins

 

1 tbsp. Brazil nuts

370% RDA for selenium

 

6 oz. pink baked or broiled salmon fillet

107% RDA for selenium

201% RDA for vitamin D

 

6 oz. tempeh (soybean mixed with whole grains)

50% RDA for iron (men)

80% RDA for niacin

 

* % RDA for frozen vs. fresh can vary depending on the

food

 

As you can see, different types of foods cover

different nutrients. For instance, it's relatively

easy to get a full day's vitamin C and beta-carotene

(vitamin A) from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

The greater the variety of foods you eat, the greater

your nutritional coverage.

 

Maximizing Nutrients From Food

 

The way food is prepared and its freshness can also

affect its nutritional punch. Here are some tips for

getting the maximum benefit from nutrient-rich fruits

and vegetables.

 

Buy fresh, local produce. When produce in the grocery

store has traveled a great distance, nutrients break

down due to exposure to light, time, etc. Your next

best bet is frozen fruit and vegetables; freezing

preserves the nutrients.

 

 

Don't cook veggies in water. Cooking vegetables in

water significantly lowers the nutrient content

because vitamins leech out. You wind up with very

nutritious cooking water that generally is poured down

the drain.

 

 

Try it raw or steamed. Eating food in its most natural

state keeps the nutrient content high. Steaming is

your best option for cooking vegetables. The water

makes no contact with the food and nutrient loss is

minimized.

 

 

Build a rainbow. Fill your plate with a variety of

colors. The more colors, the better the combination of

vitamins, minerals and protective phytochemicals.

Choose a daily variety of red, orange, yellow and

green fruits and vegetables, along with legumes and

whole grains.

Beth Gold, R.D., is the program coordinator for the

Behavioral Weight Management Research Lab at the

University of Vermont.

 

 

 

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