Can one meet 100% of recommended daily intake without consuming too many calories?
I'm a person who doesn't need much energy (maybe even 1500 calories is too much), this means that every calorie I consume is very precious.I've noticed that it's incredibly difficult to meet 100% of RDI without consuming too many calories (2000+).Every article I read about nutrient X rich foods, I find something weird like "this food is very rich in that nutrient" (but it actually contains only 3-15% of RDI per 100g), am I supposed to eat a kilogram of certain food just to get enough of 1 nutrient?For example, most articles on the internet say how broccoli are rich in calcium but 100g meets only 3-5% of RDI (why is there so much misinformation regarding nutrition?).When all of this is considered, does one even need to meet 100% of RDI every day?
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I think non-fat plain yogurt has 45% of the RDA for calcium, or you could get 100% from three glasses of milk. I have found magnesium to be a challenge so I supplement magnesium. ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/
If you start the day with a fortified American breakfast cereal, you can pick up a lot of vitamins and some minerals in the morning depending on the brand, and the calcium in the milk; though in my opinion some of the cereals are a little too rich in iron (100%), which depending on what else you eat that day that has iron one can end up with a potentially excessive iron load over time (for men and postmenopausal women). ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-Consumer/
Choline can be a bit of a challenge, three eggs will give you around 440mg (147 to 115 per egg). The adequate intake for men is 550mg in the U.S. There is no RDA for choline yet, just a recommendation for an adequate intake. I tend to forget about choline and I have to remind myself to think about it, but choline is one of those nutrients that I recommend people talk to their doctor before they take a supplement (see potential issue with TMAO). Cleveland Heart Lab. www.clevelandheartlab.com/blog-category/tmao/
I'm sure I don't get the required nutrients every single day, but at least I try to give it some serious attention, and then I don't worry about it excessively.
P.S. I think people can benefit from researching vitamin D and A on their own. Some people pick up Vitamin D well from the sun, and some don't. . I think there is a role for preformed "real" vitamin A in the diet (occasional calf liver, etc.). As far as preformed vitamin A supplements, it is wise to discuss it with a doctor before supplementing. ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-Consumer/
Of potential interest to diabetics, "pre-diabetics" and their physicians. Vitamin A. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4623591/
This page here contains a lot of information in one place. ods.od.nih.gov/Health_Information/Dietary_Reference_Intakes.aspx
It is realistic to get all the nutrients you need by consuming foods without fortification and supplements.
In general (not as a strict rule), mineral and vitamin needs increase with the calories you spend, which mainly increase with physical activity. If you spend 5,000 Calories/day, you will likely need more vitamins/minerals than if you spend 1,500.
There are different criteria for mineral/vitamin requirements:
US: Estimated Average Requirements (EAR), which meet the needs of 50% of the individuals in each sex and age group (probably most appropriate for someone who needs ~2,000 Calories/day).
US: Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA), which meet the needs of nearly all (97.5%) individuals (including heavy physical workers and athletes)
UK: Reference Nutrient Intakes, defined the same way as the US RDA
US (by FDA) Daily Value (DV), which is similar to RDA, but with even higher recommendations.
When people discuss about mineral/vitamin requirements, they usually refer to the US RDA values, but they are several reasons to believe those amounts are significantly higher than what an average adult needs, for example:
For potassium, they were not sure, so they did not call it RDA, but Adequate Intake (AI): previously it was 4.7 g/day and recently they lowered it to 3.4 g/day.
For calcium, in the US, the RDA is 1,000 mg/day, while in the UK, the RNI is 700 mg/day.
For vitamin C, the RDA is 75 mg/day, EAR is 65 mg/day and NRI is 40 mg/day.
For folate, the RDA is 400 µg/day, EAR is 320 µg/day and NRI is 200 µg/day.
Nutrient requirements refer to what you need every day in average, so if you get more one day you need less the next day.
To find foods high in a particular nutrient, you can check Nutrients Review. To finds which nutrients a certain food contains, you can check NutritionData.
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