People come to my office all the time because they are concerned about the nutritional adequacy of their diet.

Although eating what some call a “ healthy, balanced diet” requires more than just getting enough vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.

You do still need to make sure you get enough of those things too.

This is especially true for those of you who have a particular fascination with optimizing your health.

In today’s article I will teach you the nutrients you most likely don’t get enough of in your diet, according to population level data from the USA and Canada.

What you will quickly realize is that many of these nutrients are very popular in the supplemental form.

Both Vitamin D and Magnesium, for example, are among Amazon.com’s Top 20 best selling supplements.

This has very little to do with these being “super nutrients” as it does with the fact that too many simply don’t get enough from their diet.

The real benefit of this article is the fact that I will point out the foods you can incorporate to greatly decrease the probability that you will need a supplement.

Let’s get started!

The 5 Nutrients You Need More Of

Magnesium –  Many people I encounter take a magnesium supplement, but they don’t really know why.  Are you one of them?

Potassium & Fibre – Canadians certainly don’t have an issue getting enough sodium, but potassium is a whole other story. The good news? It usually comes packaged with fibre, which we all need more of as well.

Vitamin A –  Unfortunately a daily dose of my content won’t be enough to cover your vitamin A requirements, so you’d better read the article below instead.

The Top 5 Foods Highest in Vitamin A (because you probably don’t get enough)

Vitamin D – Ah yes, the sunshine vitamin.

What a shame it is we don’t get much of that around here eh!

Did you know that in the winter months close to half of all Canadians have suboptimal vitamin D levels?

In fact, Health Canada recommends a daily vitamin D supplement of 400 IU for all Canadians aged 50 plus.

In addition to a lack of sun, this is also largely owing to the dietary elusiveness of vitamin D.

It’s not found in that many foods, they include:

Fish ( especially salmon)

Eggs

Fortified Milk/Alternatives

Margarine

If you don’t consume these foods regularly, especially fish, getting enough vitamin D could be a challenge and supplementation should be considered with your healthcare professional.

Final Thoughts

Although today’s article is far from my most hard hitting or analytical, sometimes it’s important to get back to the basics.

We can get so caught up in the science behind the latest trend or fad, that we lose sight of the fundamentals.

My passion for nutrition meant that I really loved putting this post together, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Until next time,

Andy De Santis RD MPH