Are There Nutrient Gaps in Your Diet?
You've made an effort to cut out refined sugar, focus on blood sugar-balanced meals, and exercise regularly. You're on top of your hydration game and practice mindfulness daily. Yet, somehow you're still struggling with digestion, sleep, skin issues, brain fog, and lack of energy.
Could there be nutrient gaps in your diet that you're unaware of? It's highly likely. As it turns out, over 99% of Americans are nutrient deficient, with 50% having a magnesium deficiency, over 88% having a Vitamin E deficiency, and 94% having a Vitamin D deficiency. Heavily processed foods, chronic stress, and medications are all factors that have left us so nutrient-depleted. Even with a healthy diet, meeting our optimal nutrient needs can be challenging.
Factors That Limit Optimal Nutrient Intake
- Food quality - produce grown today is, unfortunately, less nutrient-dense than food grown before industrialized agriculture. A 2004 study found that essential nutrients in garden crops were up to 38% lower than in 1950. Similarly, wheat's nutritional value has declined over the past 160 years. (1)
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Fast food – in the era of heavily processed fast foods, we've swapped nutrients for convenience. Processed foods are high in sugar, salt, and fat and devoid of nutritional value. Though they may taste good, eating these foods can deplete us of essential nutrients over time.
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Low intake of fruits and veg – The CDC recommends that adults should consume 1.5-2 cup-equivalents of fruits and 2-3 cup-equivalents of vegetables daily (as per the 2020- 2025 guidelines). In 2019, only 12.3% of surveyed adults in the US met the recommended intake for fruit, with only 10% meeting vegetable intake recommendations. (2) In Canada, less than ⅓ of the population aged 12+ have reported eating the recommended daily serving of fruits and vegetables – putting a large part of our population at risk for nutrient inadequacies.
- Stress – and other factors, such as medications, can deplete essential nutrients by decreasing the absorption of nutrients in the digestive tract or impacting the excretion of essential nutrients.
Nourish with Food First
Nourish with food before turning to supplements. While it may be necessary to add in a supplement, getting your vitamins and minerals in their whole-food form will be easier for your body to absorb and use!
Many vitamins and minerals work synergistically – for example, Vitamin C aids in the absorption of Iron, and magnesium is essential to convert Vitamin D into its active form in the body.
Often, synergistic vitamins and minerals can be found together in the foods we consume, or we can strategically pair foods for optimal nutrient absorption.
Add Variety To Your Plate
Nutritional diversity in our diets starts with variety in our food! Add more nutrients to your plate by eating the rainbow with 3-5 varieties of coloured fresh fruits and veggies daily.
Brightly coloured fruits and veg are packed with beneficial phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals:
Vitamins and Minerals found in Different Foods
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Vitamin A (beta-carotene) - carrots, sweet potatoes
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B Vitamins - leafy greens, beans, spirulina
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Vitamin C - cabbage, bell peppers, strawberries, broccoli, citrus fruits
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Vitamin D - sardines, salmon, egg yolk, milk
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Vitamin E - almond butter, hazelnut butter, macadamia nut butter, pistachio butter
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Vitamin K - kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage
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Iron - dark chocolate, lentils, oysters, beef
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Magnesium - leafy greens, nut butters, avocado, banana, black beans
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Selenium - brazil nuts, sunflower seeds
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Zinc - pumpkin seeds
Fill in the Nutritional Gaps
With our all-in-one certified organic superfood mix - Daily Nourish!
Superfoods are rich in health-promoting macro and micronutrients, including vitamins & minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and fatty acids. Food can be considered nutrient-dense when they are lower in calories but high in nutrients!
Due to their nutrient-dense profile, superfoods are often linked to health benefits (beyond fundamental nutritional value), helping you to take your wellness to the next level and truly thrive.
That said, knowing where to start with superfoods can be tricky – how much should you be taking of each? Which superfoods are the most important to incorporate?
We've taken the guessing game away with Daily Nourish. Formulated with 12 of the top superfoods in the world, one scoop of Daily Nourish will provide you with the optimal serving size of each superfood you should be consuming daily.
No need to measure out 12 different superfoods into your morning smoothie!
With 76% of your daily Vitamin C, 150% of your daily Vitamin B12, and 31% of your daily Magnesium – Daily Nourish is substantial addition into a balanced, whole food based diet to help you feel energized and well-nourished.
Read more about each of the 12 superfoods found in Daily Nourish (plus the vitamins and minerals they contain) in this blog post: what are superfoods.
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