One of my favorite websites is FitDay.com. It is a free ‘food diary’ online tool than allows you to analyze your diet and evaluate which nutrients you are deficient in. The results are sometimes shocking.
Back in college, nutrition 101, I did a similar program and found that I was only getting about 50% my RDA of both zinc and iron. It can be scary to learn that you are not giving your body all the nutrients it needs to function at an optimal level.
But the good news is that you can easily find and fix your nutrient gaps!
Tonight’s Project: Do something good for you body and take a few minutes to check out your nutrient profile. First, analyze your daily diet in FitDay.com or using another online tool. Like most people, you will probably be shocked to find that you may be deficient in a few key nutrients.
After you get your profile, keep reading to find out a few quick fixes for your nutrient gaps…..
QUICK FIXES FOR NUTRIENT GAPS
IMPORTANT Note: In this list I try to stay away from animal sourced food items like eggs, meat and liver. Animal proteins like these may be high in several nutrients, but I prefer to recommend plant and grain food sources of nutrients.
Vitamin A
Carrots, 1 cup=370% RDA
Sweet Potato, 1 medium=475% RDA
Kale, 1 cup cooked=365% RDA
Vitamin C
Orange, 1 medium=116% RDA
Bell Pepper, 1/2 cup=100% RDA
Strawberries, 5 large=100% RDA
Pineapple, 1 cup=94% RDA
Grapefruit, 1 medium=147% RDA
Kiwi, 1 medium=117% RDA
Vitamin E
Almonds, 1/2 cup=100% RDA
Avocado, 1 whole=20% RDA
Almond Butter, 2 Tbsp=41% RDA
Sunflower seeds, hulled, 1/2 cup=80%RDA
Wheat germ oil, 1 Tbsp.=100% RDA
Peach, 2 raw=8% RDA
Vitamin D
Sunlight
Soy or regular milk,fortified 1 cup=about 30% RDA
Vitamin B6
Banana, 1 medium=22%RDA
Avocado,1 medium-22% RDA
Peas, 1 cup=17% RDA
Hazelnuts, 1 oz.=9% RDA
Lentils, 1 cup cooked=46% RDA
Vitamin B12
Oysters, 1 raw=45% RDA
Fortified Milk, varies
Selenium
Brazil Nuts, 1 oz.=776% RDA
Brown Rice, 1 cup=27% RDA
Lentils, 1 cup cooked=21% RDA
Potassium
Coconut Water, 1 cup=18% RDA
Banana, 1 medium=12%RDA
Lentils, 1 cup cooked 54% RDA
Manganese
Spinach, 4 cups raw=55% RDA
Coconut Water, 1 cup= 18% RDA
Brown Rice, 1 cup=88% RDA
Pecan Nuts, 1 oz.=64% RDA
Pineapple, 1 cup=91% RDA
Magnesium
Coconut Water, 1 cup=15% RDA
Cashews, 1 oz.=19% RDA
Sunflower seed butter, 1 tbsp=15%RDA
Lentils, 1 cup cooked=46% RDA
Iron
Spinach, 4 cups raw=18%RDA
Soy Beans, 1 cup=50% RDA
Kidney Beans, 1 cup=27% RDA
Peas, 1 cup=15% RDA
Lentils, 1 cup cooked=95% RDA
Zinc
Oysters, 1 raw=85% RDA
Cashews, 1 oz.=10% RDA
Peas, 1 cup=13% RDA
Lentils, 1 cup cooked=44% RDA
Oatmeal, 1 cup cooked=8% RDA
Black Beans, 1 cup cooked=12% RDA
Copper
Brazil Nuts, 1 oz.=25%RDA
Shiitake Mushrooms, 1 cup raw=65% RDA
Cashews, 1 oz.=30%RDA
Hazel Nuts, 1 oz.=25% RDA
Peach, 2 raw=6%RDA
Lentils, 1 cup cooked=65% RDA
Portabella Mushroom, 1 cap=30% RDA
And hopefully you read my post about One Singular Sensation super foods to enhance your daily RDA’S.
Anonymous,
I absolutely want to promote only a vegan diet. But since many of my loved ones still eat healthy animal products like fish and shellfish, I decided to throw that fact in there.
If a man is deficient in zinc it can cause all sorts of problems. And just one oyster can do the trick.
I would never eat seafood, shellfish ect. Just to clear that up. But thanks for the close-eye watch of my blog. I am happy to hear my readers are just as passionate about animal-free living as me!
Kathy
/What was that about an OYSTER for B – 12. Wasn’t this supposed to be animal free. about Nutritional Yeast
Wow, that piece of fruit looks sooooooo good! Awesome picture
This is quite helpful. Thanks!
I like your site. It’s really cool!