Vitamins and Minerals in Food - Can you get what you need from eating?

I can get all the vitamins and minerals I need from the food I eat...as long as I eat right.  It is one of the most common objections you hear when it comes to taking nutritional supplements.  But is it true?

That depends upon how you define the word "need".  If what you need is to simply get the FDA's recommended daily intake (RDI) of vitamins and minerals, then it is possible.  However, we also need to understand exactly what the RDIs are.  First of all, if you grab any packaged food and look at the Nutritional Facts on the package, you will see certain vitamins and minerals listed (depending upon the product you are looking at) and a percentage to the right of that ingredient.  This is the RDI.  Contrary to popular belief, this is NOT the maximum amount of that vitamin or mineral you should consume every day.

Instead, the RDIs (or RDAs) were designed to help prevent "classic diseases" such as scurvy, rickets, and beri-beri.  So, the RDI of Vitamin C is 60mg...the equivalent of (1) orange.  Researchers discovered 60mg of Vitamin C would prevent scurvy.  In fact, back in the 1700's British sailors would often take limes or lime juice on board to prevent outbreaks of scurvy.  Thus the term "Limey".  Getting the RDI of Vitamin D prevents rickets.  And the RDI of Vitamin A prevents beri-beri.

Now that we have the RDIs explained, we go back to the question of what you need.  If you simply want to make sure you don't come down with scurvy, then yes...the RDIs have done their job and you can do that by eating right.  However, if you want to obtain optimal amounts of vitamins and minerals, it becomes nearly impossible to obtain those amounts simply by eating right.

If you saw my previous post on Vitamin D you saw this first hand.  15-30min of direct sunlight gives you 15,000IU-20,000IU of Vitamin D.  To get that same amount by eating, you would need to consume about 30 cans of sardines, or 100-200 glasses of milk, or 500-1000 egg yolks.  Let's look at Vitamin E.  To get an optimal amount of 400IU of Vitamin E, you would need to consume 28.8lbs of spinach or 2.3lbs of almonds EVERY DAY.

Unfortunately, there is another factor at hand.  The food which is produced today has less vitamins and minerals than the food produced 100yrs ago.  This has been attributed to the processing of food today, as well as the amount of minerals which have been leached from the soil.

Due to these facts, many researchers are now recommending a multi-vitamin to "fill in the gaps" of one's diet.  Keep in mind, if you decide to take a multi-vitamin you should look for something which is pharmaceutical grade and NSF certified.  This way you are ensuring that you are getting those optimal amounts of vitamins and minerals, and that they will be absorbed into your body.  You may want to view my post All Supplements Are The Same to get more information on this.  Basically, if you are purchasing your vitamins from the local store down the road you may be throwing your money away.

If you are interested in seeking out a pharmaceutical grade supplement, you may want to click here and see if the supplements offered meet your needs.

To Your Health