100% of daily needs: can it be done without supplements?
Q. I'm trying to get all the nutrients I need from foods, without having to eat fortified foods or take supplements. I'm afraid that I won't get enough of certain vitamins. I'm particularly concerned about getting enough iron, zinc, copper, selenium, vitamin A, and vitamin E. Is it realistic to try to get all recommended nutrients for one day without resorting to supplements?
A. Maybe not. One reason that certain foods (such as milk, bread, table salt, and cereal) are fortified with extra vitamins is that the government is concerned that without fortification, most people wouldn't get enough of certain vitamins, especially vitamin D, E, folic acid, iron, and iodine. Vitamins C and E are often added to processed foods as preservatives, but in quantities that are not nutritionally meaningful.
If you want to avoid processed foods, including things like cereal and bread, then you may find it a bit challenging to hit the mark on certain nutrients. Just for fun, I tried to build a one-day meal plan that would hit 100% all recommended nutrients, using only whole foods.
My sample meal plan included oatmeal with apples; a smoothie with yogurt, berries, flaxseed and honey; a spinach salad with carrots, peppers, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, oil, vinegar, and pumpkin seeds; a chicken breast; some Brazil nuts; a piece of tuna, a sweet potato, and brussels sprouts.
Sounds pretty healthy, right? Yet, when I analyzed my total consumption, I found that my healthy meals were still falling slightly short on iron and zinc, provided only about half of the recommended vitamin B12 and vitamin E, and (here's the real shocker) contained no vitamin D whatsoever. (See also this recent post and comments on Vitamin D deficiency.)
I'm not saying it's not possible to build a diet containing only whole foods that meets 100% of all the recommended nutrients, but I think it would be challenging to do so on a consistent basis without resorting to a multi-vitamin or judicious use of fortified foods.
You can try this exercise yourself using our total consumption report. From your pantry, first hit the "total 0" button at the bottom of the page to clear out any foods that might have been added previously. Then, select the quantities of foods you will eat (adding them to your pantry first if neccesary) and hit the "total+" button at the bottom of the page. This will generate an analysis of that day's meals, including a bar graph that shows you whether you've hit 100% of the recommended allowances for nutrients.
If you see that one of your bars is lagging below the 100% line, you can click on that bar to generate a list of foods that are high in that nutrient. This will give you an idea what types of foods you'd need to add to your diet in order to round out the nutritional picture.
So, does anyone have a sample meal plan (without or without fortified foods) that does better than mine did at meeting daily requirements? I'd love to see it! From your pantry, enter the quantities of each of the foods in your meal plan (adding them to your pantry if necessary) and then, instead of hitting "total +", enter a name for your plan (Max's healthy mealplan) and click on "analyze recipe."
Copy the URL from your analysis page and paste it into a comment below. That allows anyone to recreate your mealplan analysis by going to that URL. (This does not give anyone access to your pantry). Don't forget to save your mealplan to your pantry before closing your browser and you'll have it for future reference. The analysis (and each individual ingredient in it) can also be saved to the pantry of anyone that views that URL.
For example, Here's the URL for my sample meal plan: http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00021Monicaqq7sqq0sampleqq0mealqq0plan-01D20X7-00o20Pl-00X217n-01c32XA-01c30h0-01c20c6-00o20cR-03E216R-01c50TB-01c40p1-01c30BJ-00o20hG-00P20of-02Q201i-01c60ki-0Cu30nr-01c31Ro-02Q20gM-02Q308D-03E30mn.html
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Posted by: Miha | Oct 25, 2007 4:39:52 AM
This would be my one day meal. It’s a combination of ideal and real.
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00021Customqq0Recipe-00o90eL-00U20ga-04b201h-00y21U4-03440dS-01c60TB-01c40VC-01c40p1-00o202n-01c70Tm-00e11Ue-02h308D-01c40hH-03i61SB-01m403U-00e20lC-01c50Vi-03E21Ge-00e0017-01c002G-00e3029-01c00dR-00o70oc-00o31Ru-02u01Vw.html
Breakfast and fruit, nut snacks are more planned than lunch and diner. Maybe someone would be interested more only on breakfast in that case:
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00021Oatsqq6other-01c60TB-01c70Tm-01c002G-00o31Ru-00y21U4-01c40p1-01c201h.html
Foods are not fortified, only maybe blackstrap molasses would fit in that category. If you don't eat meat, it's impossible to get enough iron.
Which nutrients are missing: vit D, niacin, B12, vit E, Cholesterol and some minor minuses also.
Posted by: Darren | Oct 26, 2007 1:14:05 AM
I love this website, and this this article is amazing. I am eating a million times better than ever, and yet stil realize how far from ideal I am which only motivates me to get even better. I am going to try to put my daily meals into the tool and see what foods I can add. Thanks so much for your articles, to which I subscribe via RSS.
Posted by: Carol | Oct 26, 2007 10:10:59 AM
Thanks talking about how hard it is to eat all of the nutrients we need.
I have been trying to convince my teenager that he should at least take a multi-vitamin, but he has been brushing me off, saying he eats well enough. Now I have some more ammo.
Posted by: Andrew | Oct 30, 2007 8:30:07 AM
NutritionData has been a very helpful site for me. However, a stand-alone software to do the same thing would be much more convenient for me. Has anyone seen reviews of the various software available, to help choose the best one? Can I get NutritionData on a CD or downloaded from the web, for a fee? Thanks a lot.
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Oct 31, 2007 5:57:55 PM
Andrew, NutritionData does not come in a downloadable form but one advantage to an web-based utility is that it's available wherever you have access to the internet.
There are programs you can buy which do dietary analysis. Before I discovered NutritionData, I used to use a program called Nutribase. But if you want a program that will give you the level of detail and at least some of the tools and analytics you get on ND, get ready to spend $600 to $1500 dollars.
Posted by: Ellen | Nov 4, 2007 6:55:48 PM
Miha, I am a vegan and I get 132% of my DV of iron without supplements (I take a supplement, but I would get 132% if I didn't take it).
So there. :P
Posted by: Jim Kent | Nov 9, 2007 8:42:38 PM
Here's one that actually does get the minimum of everything except sodium (which you can add with a few shakes of salt).
For breakfast there's oatmeal with chopped mangoes on top and coffee with milk and sugar.
Midmorning snack is carrot and apple salad dressed with yoghurt, and coffee with milk and sugar.
Lunch is broccoli with lots of toasted almonds, and two roasted portabella mushroom caps.
Afternoon snack is pumpkin seeds, and a bruschetta made from whole wheat toast, fresh tomato, olive oil, and basil.
Dinner is grilled salmon, asparagus, and 2 tostadas made with toasted (not fried) tortillas, black beans, and salsa, with strawberries for dessert.
1950 calories.
It's hard to get the D without fish, but if you're a vegetarian you can walk in the sun instead. ;-)
Posted by: Miha | Nov 10, 2007 3:31:49 PM
Nice composition! So it's possible, you only need a computer to compose a meal plan.
For vitamin D the mushrooms are also option, especially non-cultivated.
Posted by: Jim Kent | Nov 19, 2007 7:04:05 PM
Thanks. This site definitely makes it a lot easier to plan the meals.
I didn't know about mushrooms and vitamin D. I did a little snooping around the web. If WikiPedia is right, all you'd need to do is leave your cheap store-bought mushrooms in the sunlight for 10 minutes to make them full of vitamin D as well. Apparently their synthesis of vitamin D, like ours, depends on sunlight.
Getting E naturally on a low calorie diet looks pretty hard though. I had to put in something like 600 calories worth of almonds to make it happen. I'm probably going to continue relying on supplements for E.
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Nov 24, 2007 11:59:37 AM
Nice job Jim! By the way, everyone, you can add any of these meal plans to your pantry. Then, select the quantity (1) and hit 'total +' to get a total consumption report for that meal. (You might have to clear your running total first...just hit 'total 0'.)
Posted by: Theresa | Dec 3, 2007 1:24:33 PM
For some interesting information on "vitamin" D, visit:
http://bacteriality.com/2007/09/15/vitamind/#3
and
Posted by: mike | Jan 23, 2008 4:37:53 PM
there is a nutritional beverage called Monavie that combines 19 different fruits... the main fruit is the acai berry. it comes from the Amazon rainforest and a 2 ounce serving give you the nutritional value of 5 - 7 servings of fruits and vegetables.
Posted by: Rob | Feb 23, 2008 9:51:30 PM
Andrew, there is a free piece of software for tracking your daily nutrient intake called CRON-O-Meter, available for download here: http://spaz.ca/cronometer/
I've downloaded it and used it a little bit, it seems to work well.
Rob
Posted by: Kate | Apr 16, 2008 8:59:53 AM
Jim, you shouldn't have the coffee as part of breakfast. I understand that caffine can inhibit absorbtion of vitamins. I think it should be had between meals.
Posted by: Wayne | May 29, 2008 9:47:21 AM
Nice work Jim, but I notice you run into the same problem I'm having... how to have 100% of everything without toxic levels of other things.
As an example from your meal plan;
Vitamin K ~546 mcg ~683%
"Vitamin K RDI 80mcg, Large doses of one form of vitamin K (menadione or K3) may result in liver damage or anaemia"
http://www.lenntech.com/recommended-daily-intake.htm
Is anyone able to construct a plan that provides all the needs without putting anything at toxic levels? (Ideally vegetarian, but heck I'd be impressed with even a meat one at this point, it is quite frustrating).
Posted by: Steve | Jun 2, 2008 8:20:23 PM
Do you really think you can get what your body needs from the produce from the grocery store? Even the best organic produce/meats are way deficient. Do you really believe the RDA is accurate and adequate? Example, the RDA for Iodine is at a level so you don't get goider, but not nearly a level a person should be at to stay out of thyroid issues. Organic whole food supplements are absolutely necessary in this toxic world. See Standard Process.
Posted by: Edward | Jun 26, 2008 5:33:04 PM
I need advice on eating foods that give one ENERGY! Please.
Edward
Posted by: joan | Jul 10, 2008 11:08:34 AM
I have had beriatric surgery and need to be sure I get from 50-80 grams of protein everyday. Other than this, my surgeon offered no dietery advice. Do you know of a nutritionist that may be able to help me?
Posted by: joan selman | Jul 10, 2008 11:10:32 AM
I need advice on beriatric eating. I need to get enough protein from food without supplements and still lose weight.
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Jul 10, 2008 11:57:54 AM
Dear Joan,
It is shocking to me how many letters I get from people who have had bariatric surgery and received little or no specific information from their surgeons about appropriate nutrition following surgery. In my opinion, these surgeons do a gross disservice to their patients--bordering on malpractice.
You are quite right to be concerned about your nutrition needs and I highly recommend you consult a licensed nutritionist or registered dietician for professional support. You can find a directory of RDs at eatright.org or, if your state licenses nutritionists, the board of health should be able to give you a list of qualified nutritionists.
Posted by: William Bishop DTCM | Oct 27, 2008 1:51:35 AM
I apologize for not reading through all the posts but the main plan would be met by adding some miso soup made with some clams and an oyster or two. Though I would feel as foolish as you to be stopping by the fish monger to order "4 clams and an oyster please" on a daily basis. Oh and fifteen minutes sunshine for the D!
Posted by: Vicki Zerbee | Dec 12, 2008 5:09:42 PM
The results of a 20 year landmark nutrition supplement study were published in October of last year. It was astonishing the results in favor of supplementing in terms of better health. The real task is to do one's homework and choose a brand that (even though supplements are not regulated) has the science behind the products to prove they will get absorbed and able to provide the benefits intended. I can send info on that study if you contact me through antiagingbydesign.com.
