How To Eat To Cover Your Needs For Vitamins And Minerals?
Author: Joe Fowler
Time for reading: ~11
minutes
Last Updated:
September 13, 2022
CHAPTERS (Table Of Contents)
The current diet does not always cover the needs of micronutrients. Population studies clearly show this. But it is possible to optimize.
The current diet does not always cover the needs of micronutrients. Population studies clearly show this. But it is possible to optimize.
Food provides vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids and many other substances in varying amounts. The amounts absorbed depend on the way of eating, the way the food is produced, the level of caloric intake, the level of protein intake, but also on age and physiological state. For example, with age, some B vitamins are absorbed less well. Another example: chronic stress can increase magnesium needs .
Vitamins and minerals have a wide variety of biological roles necessary for life. Deficiencies and deficiencies lead to acute disorders that can range from skin ulcers to depression. They also expose people to chronic disorders and diseases that can develop over several decades and take the form of degenerative diseases.
What are the vitamin and mineral needs?
In each country, the health authorities have determined recommended doses for different categories of the population: men, women, children, adolescents, adults.
In France, these doses are called "recommended dietary intake" (ANC). Today we are talking about the Nutrition Reference for the Population (RNP) . The RNP is an intake calculated to theoretically cover the needs of 97.5% of the members of the population under consideration, therefore almost the entire population. RNP is calculated from the mean nutrient requirement (BNM) , i.e. average micronutrient requirement calculated from individual data.
To take a specific example, that of vitamin A, the BNM of women aged 18 years and older is set at 490 μg retinol equivalent/day, and the RNP at 650 μg retinol equivalent/day.
When BNM and RNP cannot be estimated due to lack of data, the concept of Adequate Intake (AI) is used , which corresponds to the average intake of a population or subgroup whose nutritional status is adequate. For example, the AI for selenium in adults is 70 μg/day.
Against deficits and deficiencies, is a "varied and balanced" diet sufficient?
Health authorities believe that a varied and balanced diet allows one to cover BNM or even NPR.
But technical progress, the mechanization of labor, the reduction of its duration, household electrical equipment led to a significant reduction in physical costs. As a spontaneous response, caloric intake was reduced. Fewer calories provide fewer vitamins and minerals. A French study showed that at the current level of caloric intake it is not possible to reach 80% of the recommended intake for most vitamins.
Also, before being manipulated by the food industry, most of the foods we eat generally see their vitamin content affected by the way they are produced. The use of herbicides and pesticides, picking the fruit before ripening and to a lesser extent canning are practices that harm the nutritional qualities of the plants. As for the ultra-processed foods that make up the majority of supermarket offerings , they by definition show low levels of vitamins and minerals, to the point that many are enriched, but sometimes without much thought, in a process that is more about marketing.
For these reasons, our diet does not always cover the needs of vitamins and minerals.
In 1999, the French researcher Nicole Darmont (INRAE, Montpellier) used linear programming to find out whether the usual diet of the French allowed them to meet the recommended dietary intakes (from 1992). His conclusion: " Whether it's men, women, or 1- to 3-year-old children, building a RNP-compliant ration is simply impossible to achieve when the program is mandated not to exceed actual food intake by 50 to 75 .% of the population. "
Meeting needs is particularly difficult for vitamins B1, B6, E, and D , with the 1992 recommendation level for the latter vitamin (10 μg/day) being " impossible to achieve when meeting all other ANCs. On the mineral side, the intake of magnesium, iron, zinc and copper is problematic.
PREMIUM CHAPTERS ▼
Studies: what are the risks of vitamin and mineral deficiencies? (PREMIUM)
Several large dietary studies and epidemiological studies have sought to measure the dietary intake of vitamins and minerals in the French and/or their biological status. Their results, taken collectively, show that food does not always cover vitamin and mineral needs.
If we compare the actual intake with the RNP, significant parts of the population are below the recommendations. However, it is true that RNPs are not a good indicator because they are "overestimated" in terms of average nutritional needs to cover the needs of 97.5% of the population.
Therefore, if we take 2/3 of the NPR as a benchmark, a value that characterizes a high risk of deficiency, or even half of the NPR, the situation is also not satisfactory. Finally, if we look at biological values, the bill is still gone. This applies especially to vitamins B1, B2, B6, C , D , E and to magnesium , iron and zinc .
Consumption: 20 to 25% of men and women have an intake below half of the ANC (Burgundy study), 30 to 50% of women receive less than 2/3 of the ANC (Val-de-Marne study).
Biology: in the Burgundy study, biological signs of deficiency were found in just under 20% of men and over 20% of women (almost half of women between the ages of 18 and 29). In Val de Marne, 14% of men and 18% of women have biological signs of deficiency.
Intake: in the ESVITAF study, more than a third of the population received B2 intake between 50 and 80% of the ANC.
Biology : in the Val-de-Marne study, 14 to 31% of women and 8 to 22% of men had values causing a high risk of deficiency.
Consumption: 16% of men and 36% of women received less than 2/3 of ANC in the SU.VI.MAX study and 30 to 50% of women in Val de Marne. In the Burgundy study, 11% of men and 28% of women did not have half of the ANC.
Biology: in the Burgundy study 15% of men, 20% of women have biological signs of deficiency; 16% of the population even shows signs of deficiency. In Val de Marne, 9% of men and 14% of women have biological signs of deficiency. A quarter of women between the ages of 18 and 30 have signs of deficiency.
Intake : Almost one in five adults had an intake of less than 2/3 of the ANC in the SU.VI.MAX study. Because ANCs have since been reevaluated, the percentage of adults at risk of deficiency is likely higher.
Biology : in the Val-de-Marne study, more than 20% of men had low levels.
Consumption : in winter, the French consume an average of 3.4 µg/day of this vitamin according to the SU.VI.MAX study. This is three times less than the current ANC (10 µg/day) and 20 times less than the intakes recommended by the best specialists in the world. In the Burgundy study, 87% of men and 91% of women had less than half of the ANC.
Biology : according to the SU.VI.MAX study of 1997, in winter 14% of the French had 25(OH)D levels below 12 ng/mL, a sign of a clear deficiency. 74% of men and 78% of women had less than 31 ng/mL vitamin D, a sign of deficiency or insufficiency. A 2012 study that focused on 1,500 people aged 18 to 74 and followed up in 2006-2007 concluded that 80% of French adults were in deficit, a sign that the situation had not changed in 10 years. improved.
Consumption : in SU.VI.MAX nearly 20% of men and 38% of women do not have 2/3 of ANC. The situation is even more critical in the Val-de-Marne survey: 40 to 90% of the people are below 2/3 of the ANC and up to 17% below 1/3! Confirmation in the study in Burgundy, where depending on their age, 10 to 40% of women have an intake below half of the ANC (40% between 40 and 49 years).
Biology : In the Burgundy study, 13 to 22% of men aged 30 to 49 and 10 to 22% of women aged 18 to 49 showed signs of moderate deficiency.
Consumption: in the SU.VI.MAX study, 23% of men and 18% of women received less than 2/3 of the ANC.
Biology : in SU.VI.MAX, only 6% of men and 8.4% of women had plasma levels below 0.72 mmol/L, but blood levels do not provide a reliable indication of magnesium status.
Consumption : in SU.VI.MAX, 45% of women do not have 2/3 of ANC
Biology : in the Val-de-Marne study, iron deficiency affects 29% of children under 2 years, 14% of 2-6 year olds, 15 % of adolescents and 10% of women of childbearing age. In SU.VI.MAX, 23% of women have insufficient iron stores.
Consumption : In the Val-de-Marne study, 18 to 25% of children, 25 to 50% of teenage girls and adult men, and 57 to 79% of teenage girls and adult women did not receive 2/3 of ANC.
Biology : in the Val-de-Marne study, less than 5% of the population had plasma values indicative of deficiency, but this was the case for nearly 8% of the SU.VI.MAX volunteers.
Omnivores and vegetarians at the mercy of nutritional deficiency
A systematic review of observational and interventional studies published between 2000 and 2020 compared the intake and nutritional status of adult populations consuming plant-based diets (predominantly vegetarian and vegan) with those of carnivores . Vegetarians and vegans get less protein and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). Their vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium status was also lower and markers of bone turnover were lower. But they consume more fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), folate, vitamins C and E, and magnesium. For their part, people who eat meat risk having insufficient intake of fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid, folate, vitamins D and E, calcium and magnesium. Therefore, all diets show nutritional deficiencies of various kinds.
How to avoid deficiencies through diet? (PREMIUM)
To prevent deficiencies, some countries, such as the United States, fortify staple foods with synthetic vitamins. Users can also use multivitamin and multimineral nutritional supplements . These are effective strategies, but they do not fully replicate the effects of real, minimally processed foods that are naturally rich in micronutrients.
"Sensitive" micronutrients include iron, zinc, folate (vitamin B9), vitamin A, calcium and vitamin B12 ("priority micronutrients"), as deficiencies can have serious and long-lasting effects.
Even in high-income countries, iron deficiency is common, especially among women.
Improving the overall quality of the diet, particularly the amount and variety of minimally processed foods , therefore remains a priority for reducing malnutrition. More than 70,000 compounds found in food are bound in a food matrix. These compounds work synergistically: they affect metabolism, including nutrient absorption, and may have beneficial effects on satiety and the immune system, providing protection against disease, among other potentially important effects.
See also: The ideal plate to prevent nutritional deficiencies
Do we really need to eat a variety of foods? (PREMIUM)
The advantages of the "monotonous" dietAccording to several studies, food "variety" is not always associated with better nutritional density, except in developing countries where food supply is limited.
Therefore, for Nicole Darmon, variety of foods is not necessarily the key to nutritional balance: " A uniform but well-designed ration (e.g. based on cabbage, lentils, potatoes, wholemeal bread, vegetable oil, with some animal products, e.g. liver and sardines) can to bring much more than a varied but fluctuating diet. The idea of variety is a bit of a trap in nutrition: it all depends on what you mean by it. For example, the variety of products in a given category (eg cheese or sausages) is usually not of interest, except perhaps for fruits and vegetables. »
Foods to Eat First to Avoid DeficienciesIn turn, to understand which foods should be prioritized to reduce micronutrient malnutrition, the researchers built a global food composition database and developed an approach to classify foods according to their density in each priority micronutrient for different population groups .
The main sources of priority micronutrients are organic meat, small fish, dark green leafy vegetables (LFVF), shellfish, crustaceans, beef, eggs, milk, cheese and canned fish with bones. Lamb, mutton, and pork are also good sources, and to a lesser extent, yogurt, fresh fish, legumes, and teff (dwarf sorghum) grains.
Depending on the populations and their needs , differences appear, especially for iron and folic acid . Organic meats, crustaceans, small fish are the foods that are the best sources of iron for all population groups.
Vegetables are not the best source for pregnant women, but they are for all other groups, while shellfish are of moderate interest for children aged 2-4 years and high for adolescents and adults. Beef is a major source of iron for adults and adolescents and an important source for all other groups.
For adults , legumes , teff, millet and sorghum are the main sources of iron , while for pregnant women this is not the case for pregnant women, with the exception of teff and sorghum, whose content is moderate.
In addition, quinoa, canned fish with bones, eggs, lamb/mutton, nuts and seeds of all kinds, and pork are also important sources of iron for adults, while they have a moderate role for pregnant women.
Finally, for pregnant women the most important sources of folic acid are liver and pulses, while for adults the best sources are LVFV vegetables and unrefined grains.
In conclusion, it seems possible to optimize the coverage of vitamin and mineral needs by greatly reducing ultra-processed foods and relying on a diet based on dark green leafy vegetables (including cruciferous vegetables ), whole grains, pulses, also with eggs, fish and shellfish, and entrails.
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