Table of contents:
Video: How To Take Into Account Vitamins And Minerals In Foods
How to take into account vitamins and minerals in foods
A person has a need for proteins, fats, carbohydrates, as well as vitamins and minerals. Most of the vitamins and minerals we get from food. Therefore, vitamin deficiency (acute vitamin deficiency) is a serious disease and a rare occurrence in developed countries. Vitamin deficiency is often understood as hypovitaminosis - a lack of certain vitamins. For example, a lack of vitamin C in winter and spring, when the diet is poorer in fresh vegetables and fruits.
Trace elements in nutrition
Most vitamins and minerals are obtained from food. They are found not only in vegetables and fruits, but also in meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, cereals, seeds and nuts. The less processed these products are, the more nutrients they retain. Therefore, brown rice is healthier than white rice, and the liver is healthier than liver pate from the store, etc.
Over the past half century, the content of trace elements in foods has decreased. According to the RAMS, it started back in 1963. For half a century, the amount of vitamin A in fruits has decreased by 66%. Scientists see the reason for the deterioration of the environment.
Vitamin deficiency and special needs
If you eat a variety of foods, eat whole foods, do not abuse any product and do not exclude a whole group of foods from the diet, vitamin deficiency and hypovitaminosis will not threaten you. However, during the winter-spring period, most people are deficient in vitamin C, which is found in fresh vegetables (calorifier). Last year's fruits lose 30% of their vitamins, and improper storage further increases these losses. Also, people are often faced with a lack of vitamin D with a reduction in daylight in winter, which can lead to blues and weakness.
Vegetarians lack vitamin B12 because they do not eat animal products. With its lack, a person experiences dizziness, weakness, memory impairment, feels tingling, hears tinnitus, and a blood test shows low hemoglobin.
People with thyroid dysfunction can have both a deficiency and an excess of iodine. Athletes experience increased requirements for mineral salts - magnesium, potassium, calcium and sodium, which they lose with sweat during training. Women have an increased need for iron, which is lost during the menstrual phase, and for men, zinc is most important.
The need for vitamins and minerals depends on gender, age, living conditions, diet, existing diseases and psychological state. A lack of any vitamin does not go away without symptoms. If you feel unwell, you should consult a doctor. He will select the drug and give recommendations on nutrition.
Difficulties in accounting for vitamins and minerals in foods
We found out that the content of vitamins in foods has decreased and continues to decline. One product grown under different conditions may differ in the composition of trace elements, and the duration and storage conditions reduce the amount of nutrients. For example, vitamin A is afraid of light. All vitamins are unstable to high temperatures - water-soluble (C and B group) simply evaporate, while fat-soluble (A, E, D, K) are oxidized and become harmful. It is impossible to find out the trace element composition of the product without laboratory analysis.
All people have different intestinal microflora. Some vitamins are synthesized by themselves in the intestines. These include vitamins of group B and vitamin K. Since the state of microflora is individual, it is impossible outside the laboratory to determine which substances and how effectively the intestine synthesizes.
Many vitamins and minerals conflict with each other. Vitamin B12 conflicts with vitamins A, C, E, copper, iron. Iron conflicts with calcium, magnesium and zinc. Zinc - with chromium and copper. Copper - with vitamin B2, and vitamin B2 with B3 and C. This is partly why even the most powerful vitamin and mineral complexes are absorbed by the body on average by 10%. There is no need to talk about taking vitamins into the diet.
In addition to the content of intestinal bacteria, the absorption of vitamins is affected by smoking, alcohol, caffeine, medication, lack of protein or fat in the diet. You never know what and how much you have learned.
Control methods
At different times of the year and periods of life, the need for certain substances increases, so it is better to focus on this. See your doctor about your symptoms. The doctor will recommend a drug or dietary supplement based on your symptoms. Ask your doctor about your medication or supplement and nutritional considerations during this period.
The next step is to find the sources of the micronutrient you need and the features of its combination with other products. For example, people with thyroid dysfunction are well aware that seafood is rich in iodine and that they cannot be combined with cabbage and legumes that block its absorption.
If you keep the 3-3.5 hour interval between meals, and keep your meals simple but balanced, you will most likely avoid micronutrient conflicts (calorizator). Have one source of protein, one source of complex carbohydrates, and vegetables in your meal.
The content of vitamins and minerals in the product and their absorption by the body can be monitored exclusively in the laboratory. You can protect yourself from hypovitaminosis by eating a simple and varied diet, eating whole foods, controlling your well-being, and seeing a doctor in a timely manner.
Author: Ekaterina G., nutritionist, fitness blogger (specially for Calorizator.ru)
Copying of this article in whole or in part is prohibited.
