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The guides also takes into account the needs of pregnant mothers, the elderly, children, active men, and women and inactive men and women, with servings for each food group varying according to each person’s needs. Even so, it can be difficult to be objective about your eating habits.
Now say you’ve done all that and you’re at the point where you’re looking at improving what you eat to get best nourishment. Specifically you want to know what foods provide which vitamins and minerals? It’s important to realize there are more foods than we can list that provide nourishment, so here is a basic list sourced from Sizer and Whitney’s Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies ninth edition:
Protein: Meat, dairy products, fish, dry beans, eggs, nuts
Fibre: Whole grains, fruits and vegetables, beans, high fibre cereals
Vitamin A: Fortified milk, beef liver, mango, apricots, carrots, sweet potato, spinach
Thiamin (B1): Pork chops, sunflower seeds, enriched cereal, watermelon, enriched pasta, baked potato, green peas, black beans, whole-wheat bagel
Riboflavin (B2): Beef liver, yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, pork chop, enriched cereal, mushrooms, spinach
Niacin (B3): Enriched cereal, mushrooms, baked potato, chicken breast, tuna, pork chop
Vitamin B6: Spinach, baked potato, sweet potato, chicken breast, beef liver, banana
Folate: Asparagus, beets, spinach, beans, liver, avocado, enriched cereals
Vitamin C: Brussels sprouts, sweet red pepper, green pepper, bok choy, broccoli, orange juice, strawberries, grapefruit
Vitamin D: Fortified milk, salmon, shrimp, sunlight
Vitamin E: Safflower oil, canola oil, wheat germ, sunflower seeds
Vitamin K: Spinach, cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, soybeans, canola oil
Calcium: Milk, cheese, yogurt, broccoli, greens, salmon, sardines, beans, tofu (set with calcium)
Iron: Chard, spinach, enriched cereal, clams, beef steak, beans
Magnesium: Bran cereal, spinach, yogurt, soy milk, oysters, black beans, black-eyed peas, avocado
Phosphorus: Navy beans and animal proteins such as found in cottage cheese, milk, salmon, and sirloin steak
Zinc: Shellfish, oysters, meats, poultry, grains, legumes, yogurt
Note: be careful not to overdo zinc because you have a very narrow range of safe zinc intake before you get a toxic effect. The tolerable upper intake level (UL) is 40 mg a day.
Polyunsaturated fats: Vegetable oils, such as canola, flax, safflower, sunflower, soybean corn, and peanut
• Omega 6 fats: Leafy vegetables, seeds, nuts, grains, vegetable oils, poultry fat
• Omega 3 fats: Salmon, mackerel, tuna, trout, sardines, herring, bluefish, anchovy, flax and flax oil, canola oil, soybean oil, walnut oil, nuts and seeds
Monounsaturated fats: Vegetable oils such as canola, olive, and safflower oils, also found in chicken fat
Saturated fats: Always be wary of excess intake of saturated fats. High amounts are found in animal fats such as butter, beef, pork, as well as vegetable sourced palm and coconut oils
Sodium: Take care not to eat too many high sodium foods. High amounts are found in salt and salted foods (fish, meats, etc), soup mixes, processed foods, salted snacks, brined foods (olives, pickles, sauerkraut), condiments, processed cheeses, and soy sauce.
While not at all necessary, I still do recommend that we all have a food analysis done at some point in our lives. The reason: often we get set into eating patterns we think are healthy and so don’t realize we’re missing out on easily obtained foods that can make a difference in our health over time.
It’s also interesting to realize that mental deficits that occur with age are sometimes caused by poor nutrition. Who can ask for a more tasty solution to the brain fuzzies? Eat good food!
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Photo Credit: Joël Dietlé
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