6 “Must Eat” Essential Nutrients & Minerals

“The scientific truth may be put quite briefly; eat moderately, having an ordinary mixed diet, and don't worry. ~ Robert Hutchison, 1932”

Eating nutritionally every day is not only health but life-saving. Our bodies are highly evolved complex interactive systems producing and consuming energy to keep our mind, body, and spirit healthy and fit. In order to keep our bodies in good health and operating at peak performance, there are many essential vitamins and minerals we need. Among the essential nutrients and minerals we need daily are:

Beta Carotene

Health Benefits:
Our body converts the nutrient, beta carotene, into vitamin A, which is essential for healthy vision, immune function and cell growth. It also acts as a powerful antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals.

Recommended Daily Amount:
Presently, there's no RDA for beta carotene. But eating too much can add a yellowish tinge to your skin.

Best Food Sources:
Beta Carotene can be found in orange vegetables and fruits (such as: papaya, mango) and in dark green vegetables. Eat plenty of both weekly to meet your vitamin A needs and reap beta carotene's powerful antioxidant benefits.

Chromium

Health Benefits:
Chromium is required by the body for the process that turns food into usable energy, helping insulin prime cells to take up glucose. Chromium may be important to people with type 2 diabetes. It may help them control their blood sugar and may play a role in the management of adult-onset diabetes. Low chromium levels may cause high cholesterol and a greater risk of developing coronary artery disease (CAD). Supplemental chromium may increase "good" (HDL) cholesterol and lower triglycerides and total cholesterol levels in people with high blood sugar and diabetes.

Recommended Daily Amount (RDA):
Once tauted as a muscle-building miracle pill recent studies have been very disappointing about claims of chromium being able to improve glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, weight loss, and cholesterol level; studies to date have been unable to substantiate these claims for large segments of the marketplace. However, the body still needs this essential nutrient to function properly. The daily recommended intake for adults is 50 to 200 mcg.

Best Food Sources:
Best sources of chromium are whole-grain breads and cereals, meat, nuts, prunes, raisins, beer and wine.

Potassium

Health Benefits:
Potassium is involved in almost every vital body process: maintaining blood pressure, heart and kidney function, muscle contraction, even digestion.

Recommended Daily Amount (RDA):
Surveys show that most Americans get less than half the recommended amounts of potassium, which is 4,700 milligrams (mg) daily for adults and teens.

Best Food sources:
Foods rich in potassium best eaten in their natural states, so be sure to choose whole, unprocessed foods as often as possible, especially fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, fish and lean meats.

Magnesium

Health Benefits:
Often over looked, magnesium's importance is getting more attention. A recent Harvard study of almost 130,000 men and women reporting that those who consumed more magnesium in their diets were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Other studies show that it may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Magnesium is necessary for some of the body's most basic processes, magnesium triggers more than 300 biochemical reactions for the production of energy from the food we eat. It help make proteins in the body, maintains muscle and nerve function, sustains a steady heart rhythm, regulates blood pressure, and keeps bones and teeth strong.

Recommended Daily Amount (RDA):
Around 300 mg/day (women) and 350 mg/day (men), with the upper limit for supplemental magnesium at 350 mg.

Best Food sources:
The mineral magnesium is abundant in avocados, nuts and leafy greens including acorn squash, kiwi and almonds.

Folate/Folic Acid

Health Benefits:
Folate is necessary for the production of new cells, including red blood cells. Folate deficiency remains a major cause of spinal-cord defects in newborns.

Recommended Daily Amount (RDA):
Many dietitians recommend taking a multivitamin with 400 mcg of folic acid; 1,000 mcg per day is the safe upper limit for folic acid.

Best Food sources:
The best sources that are rich in folate include liver, dried beans and peas, spinach and leafy greens, asparagus and fortified cereals.

Zinc

Health Benefits: Zinc is essential to virtually every cell of the human body that ranges from keeping the immune system healthy to regulating testosterone. The metal is a micronutrient, one of 11 “trace” minerals that the body needs in very small amounts to maintain health. In the body, zinc binds to proteins, to help regulate many metabolic functions, including normal growth, tissue repair and wound healing, various functions of the immune system, and in the senses of taste and smell.

Recommended Daily Amount (RDA):
The recommended dietary intake for men is 11 mg/day, for women 8 mg/day.

Best Food sources:
Zinc is present in many foods. Zinc can be found in oysters other shellfish, cooked beef tenderloin, turkey, chickpeas, roast chicken leg, pumpkin seeds, cooked pork
tenderloin, plain low-fat yogurt, wheat germ, tofu, dry roasted cashews and Swiss cheese. In addition good amounts of zinc are also present in the bran of many grains, nuts, legumes, and red meats.

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(Source: MSN Slideshow 11 Featured Nutrients: Why You Need Them )

EAT WELL... BE WELL!