your intake of fruits, vegetables, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, and whole grains increases your fiber intake and acts as an investment in your health. Make sure you increase your fluid intake with your fiber intake to keep everything moving smoothly! (See page 284 for fun flavored water ideas.)
Fiber
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Micronutrients 12
Micronutrients are broken down into vitamins and minerals. We often hear these terms, but do you know what the difference is? Remember learning about the periodic table in school? Minerals are the micronutrients found on the periodic table. Think iron, sodium, iodine, magnesium, and calcium. Vitamins are organic compounds, and no, that does not mean that they are made without fertilizer! It means they are compounds that contain carbon, along with other types of atoms. Our body is capable of making vitamin D (although this is limited by many factors), but otherwise we need to get vitamins from food. One thing I have learned, and am reminded of continuously in my practice, is that our bodies are complex and there is no miracle nutrient! So I have decided to go through the different body systems and explain what micronutrients are essential to their functioning to hopefully help you discover the incredible relationship between nutrients and the importance of taking a food-first approach instead of relying on supplements.
Let’s start with our largest organ: skin. I don’t have the secret to everlasting youth, but vitamin A, vitamin C, ribo-flavin, and zinc are all micronutrients that help keep skin healthy and intact. You may take this for granted, but frail skin that tears easily makes an ideal entrance point for germs into your body.
Bones and muscles are the framing of our body that allows us to do both
day-to-day activities and the fun activities that bring quality to our life. Perhaps it makes sense that since bones and muscles work together, they need similar nutrients to function. Vitamin D, potassium, magnesium, and calcium are involved in both muscle and bone health, but in different mechanisms. In bones, these nutrients are used for the end goal of creating a strong, durable structure. Bones also require vitamin C for collagen production and vitamin K to bind calcium. Muscles use calcium, mag-nesium, and potassium to contract, and require iron to supply and store oxygen.
The nervous system is the electrical system in our body that allows us to perceive and respond to what’s around us. There are many nutrients needed for the electrical impulses to occur, including calcium (and consequently vitamin D to regulate calcium levels), magnesium, potassium, and zinc. Neurotransmitters is the fancy name for the chemicals sent between neurons—or neurons and muscle cells—that allow the electrical signal to continue. Many of the B vitamins, as well as vitamin C, are involved in making neurotransmitters.
The cardiovascular system includes our heart and blood vessels, and with the rise in heart attacks and strokes, has become an organ system of focus. Many people are familiar with sodium (salt) impacting blood pressure, but did you know that potassium, magnesium, and calcium all have a role in blood-pressure regulation? These nutrients are also
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important for the heart to contract prop-erly. In a different capacity, vitamins B6, B9, and B12 are involved in clearing homocysteine (a toxic by-product of bodily functions) from the blood, decreasing inflammation in blood vessels and consequently lowering the risk of cardio-vascular disease.
We often overlook how nutrients other than iron impact the function of our blood, but there are many nutrients needed for blood to work its best. Vitamin A and B vitamins are needed to incorporate iron into the red blood cells, and vitamin C is a secondary helper by promoting iron absorption from plant sources. Another important life-necessitating function is blood clotting, in which vitamin K plays a crucial role.
Immune function is a hot topic, both in terms of protecting the body from infectious diseases, but also protecting the body from autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. Vitamin A, vitamin D, B vitamins, and iron are all involved in immune function. A different, but still relative, mechanism is preventing oxidation, which causes damage and inflammation to the body. Riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin C, and vitamin E are powerful antioxidants, protecting our cells from oxidation.
Now, you may be wondering why there is a recommended intake for sodium when a lot of attention has been paid on how it negatively impacts our health (especially blood pressure). But the truth is, our body needs sodium for life-sustaining processes,
If you look at the nutrient analysis in this book (page 290), the vitamin D level is frequently low. Our body produces vitamin D from sunlight exposure, but if you live at high latitudes (like Canada!), spend most of your day indoors, protect yourself from sunlight when you are outside, or a combination of all three, your body is likely not producing adequate vitamin D. Milk and some brands of milk alternatives (for example, almond or soy milk) have been fortified with vitamin D. Fish with small bones are also a significant source of dietary vitamin D. Vitamin D supplementation is generally recommended to help meet our recommended intake. Otherwise, if you are eating a balanced diet, most people do not need additional vitamin or mineral supplements. Check with your health care provider prior to starting any vitaminor mineral supplementation.13
vitamin d
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including metabolism and nerve and muscle function. However, the typical North American diet that relies heavily on highly processed foods provides too much sodium, which can lead to negative health consequences, including high blood pressure. Again, moderation is key. Reducing our intake of highly processed foods, and cooking more from scratch, gives us control over the amount of sodium in our food, providing us with what our bodies need while also promoting health.
I want to address metabolism and micronutrients. First, I need to clarify that when I talk about metabolism I am not referring to the ability to use energy and consequently lose weight, but rather to the ability to break down the food we eat and turn it into energy that the cells in our body can then use to function. B vitamins are central to the metabolismof macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) into energy, but magnesium and iron also play a key role in this process.
Lastly, we may forget to think about how nutrients impact our genes, but even dna needs vitamins and minerals to perform the functions essential to our survival. B vitamins are needed to create and repair dna, while magnesium, iron, and zinc are needed for dna production.
It is incredible how the food we eat impacts our body’s ability to function all the way from the essential creation of dna to being able to jump on a trampo-line and have strong skin. Nutrients work as a team, not individuals, in allowing our body to function.
Multivitamins
It’s a common misconception that taking a multivitamin will help provide “nutrient insurance” if you are busy and not always eating a healthy diet; however, there are several reactions that occur with micronutrients and food that cannot be replicated in a supplement, like how the lactose in milk helps our body absorb the calcium. Unless it’s vitamin D, it is best to make an effort to get key vitamins and minerals from food.
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI)
Developed by American and Canadian experts after an extensive research review process, Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) are a set of values used to explain the amount of a nutrient needed by most healthy individuals.14 Using the dri as a guide for The Complete Plate, we have analyzed ingredients, put recipes together, and created a plan that ensures you get a complete set of macro- and micronutrients each day.
To cover the largest demographic possible (male and female aged 19–50 years old), we accounted for the highest dri values for each group. However, even when considering the highest dri values, intakes still fall below set upper limits. If you would like an in-depth diet analysisfor each meal plan, please refer to page 290.
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Cholesterol