"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has no dined well." - Virginia Woolf
We hear a lot of talk about macronutrients, but not a lot on micronutrients.
Ok, so what are theses magical micronutrients?
Micronutrients are simply the nutrients we need in smaller quantities than those macronutrients. So, the micro refers to size, not importance. It may be small but it's still very important, we need them for all health, including metabolism, brain, mental, nerves, muscles, skin, heart, blood, circulation and our immune system. To get specific, these are all your vitamins, minerals, trace minerals and phytonutrients.
The U.S. government has set recommended values (like RDA, DRI or AI) for many of these micronutrients. And while you CAN get your daily recommended values in your daily diet, unfortunately, this still does NOT mean we are getting all the nutrients we need in our diet and supplements can come in handy for many here, especially for so many of us that are in deficiency state already. Many of these values are set at the bare minimum for survival, not for optimal health.
For now I will leave you with some of the top foods in each group:
Water soluble vitamins (these are all 9 B vitamins and Vitamin C): citrus fruit, bell peppers, whole grains, eggs, dark leafy greens, fish and meat
Fat-soluble vitamins (these are Vitamins A, D, E and K): almonds, sunflower seeds, nuts and seeds, beef liver and organ meats, trout, mushrooms, edamame, greens, broccoli, sweet potatoes and dairy
Minerals (like magnesium, potassium, chromium, selenium, and many, many more): beans, legumes, lentils, fish, oysters, dairy, bananas, spinach and nuts
Phytonutrients: Eat the rainbow! Try to eat 1-2 servings per color (Red, orange, yellow, green, purple, white) through a day.
And to help you get your phytonutrients in, here's a Free handout to download from the IFM on Phytonutrients!
Did you know that over 31% of Americans are at risk for a nutritional deficiency! That’s over 1 in 3 people! And those that do not use nutritional supplements at at even higher risk at 40%, while those that take a daily multivitamins are at lower risk, around 14%! (Also, my soapbox time, please dont buy you supplements just anywhere, especially grocery stores, drugstores, and evne places like Costco or Amazon. My favorite place I trust to buy quality and processional supplements that are third-party verified and stored properly is Fullscripts. Plus everyone that signs up gets 10% off always and forever, unless you are a client and then it’s discounted more!)
The great new is that with functional bloodwork you can see exactly what levels your micronutrients are at? My favorite is SpectraCell Labs Micronutrient test. It measures 30 vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, so we can see if you have enough or are potentially deficient. The test is typically $540, but I give all my clients $100 off, so it’s only $440! If you are interested in learning more or working together let me know, typically I book out 3-4 weeks for new clients, if that month is still oepn.
What do you think about micronutrients? Are getting your daily RDA?