The Fab Five: Are you Getting the Right Amount?
Many of us are aware of the importance of getting enough vitamins and minerals for overall health and chronic disease prevention. What you might not know is that there is a collection of nutrients that have been deemed “of public health concern” because they’re commonly deficient in Americans’ diets. (By the way, did you ever notice that the acronym for the Standard American Diet is SAD? Kind of ironic, but unfortunately true. Sad even.) While all vitamins and minerals are important, today I’ll focus on just these few.
So, what are the Nutrients of Public Health Concern and how do you ensure that you get the right amount? The list includes calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, potassium, and sodium (spoiler alert – this one has a twist.) As for getting enough, the theme you’ll often hear me talk about is balance. Vitamins and minerals work synergistically – they depend on each other to do their jobs – so you want to find the sweet spot of enough, but not too much.
The beautiful thing – as you’ll also hear me say often – is that nature has it figured out. The absolute best way to ensure you’re hitting your mark in most cases is to eat a varied diet of whole foods. One of the things I do in my work is teach clients how to do just that without tearing their hair out. Read on to learn more.
But first… always consult your own doctor or work with a nutrition professional before making any changes to your diet and supplement routine. When it comes to vitamins and minerals, simple blood tests can identify deficiencies, so your best approach is to “test, not guess.”
Calcium
Most often associated with bone health, calcium is also involved in maintaining pH balance in the body, helping muscles and nerves communicate with each other, hormone secretion, and blood clotting.
The general recommendation for calcium consumption is 1000-1200 mg/day. The best sources are dairy foods, tofu, lentils and beans, seeds (chia, sesame, poppy), leafy greens/cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and kale, seaweed, sardines, canned wild salmon, and white beans. To give you an idea, a half cup of tofu contains 434 mg of calcium, while yogurt clocks in at 415 mg per cup. Three ounces of sardines will give you just over 300 mg, and white beans and bok choy each provide 80 mg in a half-cup serving.
The tricky thing about calcium, though, is that it requires other vitamins to maximize absorption. So, without adequate vitamin D and vitamin K, your absorption will be hindered. All the more reason to eat a varied diet!
Vitamin D
There’s so much to say about vitamin D that it could have an entire article all to itself. Interestingly, vitamin D is not only a vitamin, but also a hormone produced in the body. It plays an important role in the immune system, blood pressure regulation, calcium balance/bone health, insulin secretion, and cell growth. But the most interesting research on vitamin D has shown its importance in neurological health, with deficiencies linked to conditions such as depression, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s.
Vitamin D is found naturally in very few foods. These include fatty fish (such as salmon), egg yolks, mushrooms. You'll also find it in fortified orange juice, and fortified dairy and plant-based milks, like almond milk. As a ballpark, 3 oz. of canned pink salmon provides 485 IU, and fortified orange juice gives you 100 IU per cup. But here’s the rub…. The absolute best source of vitamin D is the sun. This sheds light on why those in the northernmost regions are the most deficient. (The highest rates of Alzheimer’s are found there, too.) The quandary is that we know how critical sunscreen is to skin cancer prevention, so no one advocates spending extended time outside without it. The good news is that all it takes is 10-15 minutes of sun exposure each day to get the recommended amount of vitamin D. After that, slather on the sunscreen and be on your way.
It's important to note that vitamin D is a place where supplements may be needed. But, again, test with bloodwork, don’t guess. Look for a reading of 40-60 ng/mL. Supplementation of 1000-2000 IU is generally sufficient. For serious deficiency, a higher “loading dose” may be advised before going on a maintenance dose.
Magnesium
This little mineral could be nicknamed “nature’s muscle relaxant.” Magnesium is critical to over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body, so there’s far too much to the story than I can tell here, but one of its most crucial jobs is related to nerve and muscle function. It’s also important in energy production, blood sugar control, blood pressure, and has been shown to ease constipation and relieve some types of headaches. The general recommendation is 310-420 mg/day.
One of the best sources used to be dark green leafy vegetables. However, because of over farming, much of soil today is depleted of magnesium, so other food sources are needed in addition. Don’t ditch the leafy greens, but add nuts and seeds, legumes, tofu, avocado, and whole grains. You’ll find about 100 mg in 6 Brazil nuts, 86 mg in one cup of brown rice, and 56 mg in a small avocado. A nice soak in an Epsom salt bath is another way to boost magnesium via absorption through the skin. It’s also a fantastic addition to your bedtime routine to improve sleep. Bonus!
Potassium
Another mineral powerhouse, potassium is an essential electrolyte important to muscle function and fluid balance. Signs of potassium deficiency can include fatigue, irritability, irregular heartbeat, muscle twitches, and high blood pressure, while excess can lead to muscle weakness and vomiting. Potassium and sodium work together in a tightly-regulated system to maintain proper fluid balance in the body. For this reason, it’s important to get your potassium from whole food sources and DO NOT supplement except under your doctor’s guidance. So, what foods should you consume? It may surprise you to learn that bananas – although a very good source at just over 400 mg – are not the best source. A baked potato (with skin) wins that prize, providing twice the potassium of a banana. Sweet potatoes and greens, such as cooked spinach, are also excellent choices. Though, admittedly, it’s much easier to throw a banana in your gym bag for a pre- or post-workout snack, so go for it!
Sodium
Like potassium, sodium is an essential electrolyte. It aids in nerve and muscle function, maintains water balance in and around your cells, is crucial for transporting nutrients into cells, and helps maintain blood pressure. Sodium deficiency can result in headache and confusion, where excess causes hypertension and swelling. Excess sodium also increases your body’s excretion of calcium, resulting in deficiency there. But, unlike potassium, too much sodium consumption is the common issue. On average, Americans eat about 3400 mg of sodium per day, largely due to processed food consumption, while the recommended intake is less than 2300 mg/day. The best way to temper that is to reduce or eliminate processed food in your diet. If you do eat packaged foods, take the time to read the labels and look for added sodium. A simple canned soup or broth might have more than 700 mg of sodium in one cup. You might find it in unexpected places like beverages, salad dressings, and cereals, too. Opt for low/no sodium varieties wherever possible.
Of course, no conversation about over consumption would be complete without mentioning added sugar, which is far too high in the Standard American Diet, as well. But that’s a topic for another day.
