30 Essential Nutrients

Did you know that the human body needs 30 nutrients to function properly? We’re getting them from our diets, but they don’t come without a price. Learn more about these essential micronutrients and how deficiencies in any can cause severe health problems.

30-Nutrient

While you may not be acquainted with the phrase “nutrient density,” you are probably aware of the notion of eating largely nutrient-dense meals.

The concept of eating a nutrient-dense diet is described in various ways by health professionals. For example, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, the author of “Eat to Live,” developed the now-popular word “nutritarian.” This is one of my favorite terms!

A nutritarian is a person who picks foods based on the micronutrient content per calorie. A nutritarian, in other words, does not calculate calories, eats exclusively low-fat foods, or follows a raw food diet. A nutritarian also does not adhere to a “one-size-fits-all” food plan or ideology.

To feel fulfilled and stay healthy, they concentrate on consuming a range of the most nutrient-rich meals available — in other words, unprocessed, whole foods.

Nutrient Density and Its Effects on You

The quantity of useful nutrients in food concerning the number of calories it contains is referred to as nutritional density (or its energy content).

“Nutrient-dense foods,” according to the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Health and Human Services, are those that are rich in nutrients yet low in calories.

When you think of nutritious foods, you typically think of fruits and vegetables, but other entire foods have high nutritional density ratings as well. Wild-caught fish, cage-free eggs, beans and peas, raw nuts and seeds, grass-fed lean meats and poultry, and ancient/whole grains are all examples of healthy foods.

Consider the case of eggs: are they nutrient-dense? Yes, most people consider free-range eggs to be nutritious meals since they include enough B vitamins, choline, and vitamin D and beneficial fats like omega-3s and protein in only 75 calories per big egg.

What Is the Importance of Nutrient-Dense Foods?

Essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids (protein building blocks), fatty acids, and other nutrients are found in healthy, entire meals. A nutrient-dense diet may also be referred to as an anti-inflammatory diet, which has been linked to the prevention of chronic illnesses and risk factors such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.

Many experts feel that your general health is influenced by the ratio of your nutrient consumption to your calorie intake. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the overall quality of people’s diets is determined by a variety of variables, including:

  • The number of vitamins and macronutrients people consume per calorie.
  • Whether they consume enough calories (in the form of macronutrients) on a regular basis to fulfill their specific requirements implies being able to prevent overeating while simultaneously avoiding undereating and vitamin deficits.
  • Toxic chemicals such as trans fats, salt, and processed carbohydrates should be avoided.

Another way to look at it is as follows: 600 calories of fast-food french fries are certainly not the same as 600 calories of kale in terms of nutritional content per calorie ingested.

In the same vein, 600 calories of brown rice and 600 calories of kale are not the same. Although brown rice is a natural food, it is not as nutrient-dense as kale (and a host of other foods, too).

Oatmeal receives a 53 on Dr. Fuhrman’s “Nutrient Density Scale.” To put things in perspective, you’d have to consume four bowls of oatmeal to get the same amount of nutrients as one bowl of strawberries. Likewise, to receive the same amount of nutrients as one bowl of kale, you’d have to consume roughly 20 bowls of oatmeal!

Top 30 Foods That Are High in Nutrients

Chemically changed, created, or packed with synthetic additives, nutrient-dense foods are genuine and unadulterated.

Micronutrients such as important vitamins, trace minerals, and electrolytes such as magnesium/calcium/potassium, as well as macronutrients such as carbs (both “simple” and “complex”), proteins (amino acids), and various kinds of healthy fats, may all be present in nutritious, whole meals.

Because genuine foods contain complex chemical structures that are difficult to imitate, a well-rounded, primarily unprocessed diet is better than taking supplements and eating a processed diet. Antioxidants and phytochemicals, for example, are present in many plant meals and help boost the immune system, detoxification processes, and cellular repair.

What are the foods that are the most nutrient-dense?

Here are the most nutrient-dense foods accessible to us, based on the number of nutrients concerning the amount of calories in these meals:

  1. Seaweeds
  2. Liver
  3. Kale, collards, spinach, watercress, dandelion greens, and arugula are examples of leafy greens.
  4. Broccoli rabe, broccoli, cauliflower, and other cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage or Brussels sprouts
  5. Acai, goji, and camu are examples of exotic berries
  6. Bell peppers
  7. Carrots and parsnips
  8. Garlic
  9. Herbs including parsley, cilantro, basil, and others
  10. Berries are a kind of berry (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
  11. Asparagus
  12. Beets
  13. Sardines and wild salmon
  14. Broth made from bones
  15. Grass-fed beef
  16. Green Beans
  17. Yolks of eggs
  18. Pumpkin
  19. Lentils
  20. Artichokes
  21. Tomatoes
  22. Wild mushrooms
  23. Pumpkin, sunflower, chia, and flax seeds
  24. Kefir with raw cheese
  25. Sweet potatoes
  26. Black Beans
  27. Rice that has been harvested from the wild
  28. Yogurt
  29. Cacao
  30. Avocado

Connection Between Weight Loss

Eating more whole meals is good for maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding vitamin deficits.

“The normal American diet (SAD) is energy-rich but nutrient-poor,” according to the American Heart Association.

Because this method eliminates empty calories from items like added sugar, processed grains, and refined oils, a diet rich in high-fiber, nutrient-dense foods may aid weight loss/management.

When you consume items with fewer calories per bite regularly, your diet’s total calorie density naturally decreases. This allows you to acquire all of the vital vitamins and minerals you need without feeling hungry or deprived, as well as preventing overeating and weight gain.

Following a nutrient-dense diet has the added benefit of allowing you to maintain a healthy weight without cutting out any foods or food categories, following fad diets, or monitoring calories. When you just limit or eliminate processed foods that are heavy in sugar, chemicals, salt, and additives from your diet, it’s much simpler to consume a healthy number of calories without restricting yourself.

Since nutrient-dense foods are low in calories to begin with (because of their high fiber, water content, and lack of chemicals), you may be able to consume more while still losing weight. Healthy foods, such as vegetables, fruits, and, in moderation, legumes/beans or whole grains, are dense and full, making them difficult to overeat.

How Can I Get More Nutrients in My Diet?

Are you ready to boost the number of nutrients in your meals? Here are some suggestions for increasing your intake of the most nutrient-dense foods:

1. Limit your intake of highly processed foods

According to author and professor Michael Pollan, there are 80,000 known edible plant foods, with roughly 3,000 of them have been or are presently being used in the human diet. Despite this, just four heavily subsidized, industrialized crops account for nearly 60% of global calorie consumption: maize, rice, soy, and wheat.

This is an issue since it implies that individuals get a large portion of their daily calories from low-nutrient meals.

On the other hand, processed foods tend to supply a lot of “empty calories” with little nutritional value in return, while whole foods deliver a lot of critical elements with a low calorie “price tag.”

What foods aren’t high in nutrients? Low-nutrient-density foods and beverages include:

  • Meats that have been processed
  • Noodles in a flash
  • Meals prepared quickly
  • Beverages with added sugar
  • Vegetable oils that have been refined
  • Chips made with potatoes
  • Margarine
  • Cookies, cakes, and pastries from the store
  • Sweeteners made from artificial sources
  • Fries à la française
  • Bars of granola
  • Sweetened yogurts and ice cream
  • Cereals for breakfast
  • Grain that has been refined
  • Bars of candy
  • Food that is prepared quickly

2. Purchase organic (and, ideally, locally grown) produce

Purchasing organic vegetables is a positive start toward avoiding harmful chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and GMOs. However, purchasing organic isn’t always required, nor is it always your best choice for increasing the nutritional richness of your diet.

While I encourage purchasing organic goods wherever possible, I believe that buying local, fresh foods is just as essential (if not more so). Of course, we’d all want to have year-round access to local, organic, nutrient-dense foods, but that’s not always practical.

Do your best rather than attempt to be flawless. Shop at farmers’ markets, join a community-sponsored agricultural club, or try producing some organic vegetables yourself during the warmer months of the year.

3. Emphasize the importance of eating whole foods first and foremost

Foods in the human diet are often oversimplified. However, foods cannot always be measured and categorized only based on their specific nutrients.

Some processed foods, for example, may include synthetic vitamins, but this does not imply that they are healthful. Moreover, you lose sight of the larger picture when you measure meals based on the fundamental nutrients they contain rather than the complex mix of substances contained in entire foods.

In other words, it’s simple to slap a label on a cereal box proclaiming that it’s “rich in omega-3’s!” However, this does not mean that the product is definitely beneficial for you. Instead, it would help if you tried to obtain as many nutrients into your body as naturally as possible.

Another difficulty is that many antioxidant phytonutrients are currently “unnamed and unmeasured,” meaning they can only be gotten by eating a range of nature’s most nutrient-dense foods. We may also presume that foods with the highest concentrations of recognized nutrients (such as leafy green vegetables and berries) contain the greatest number of beneficial but undiscovered substances.

4. Strive for balance and variety

While nutrient density rankings might aid in selecting nutritious meals, they aren’t the only factor to consider. For example, if you just ate items with a high nutritional density, your diet would be deficient in healthful fats.

If a physically active individual simply ate foods rich in nutrients, they would consume too much fiber and not obtain enough calories each day. This would really be harmful to the person’s health, causing malnutrition, poor energy, a slowed metabolic rate, weakness, and mental issues.

You should already be on your way to eating a nutrient-dense, balanced diet if you consume a range of actual foods that you love from all dietary categories (including protein and fats, in addition to plants). Instead of concentrating on the items, you shouldn’t have eaten, try to think positively about what you should be consuming.

What Causes Foods to Lose Nutrient Density?

Many Americans are aware that they do not consume enough fruits and vegetables daily, but even those who do may not be getting all of the nutrients they need. “Nutrient degradation” refers to the loss of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in food due to causes such as depleted soils, food manufacture, processing, and transportation, as well as, to a lesser degree, cooking and heating.

The Globe and Mail and CTV News conducted a study of Canadian supermarket food in 2002. They discovered that nutritional levels in fruits and vegetables had dropped drastically in only a generation.

When comparing nutritional levels over 50 years, the researchers discovered that the typical store potato has lost:

  • Its vitamin A content is 100 percent.
  • Its vitamin C and iron content is 57 percent.
  • Its riboflavin content is 50%.
  • Its calcium content is 28%.
  • Its thiamine content is 18%.

Twenty-five fruits and vegetables were examined, and the results were comparable. For example, broccoli is considered one of the most popular superfoods, but a new study suggests that current broccoli has roughly 63 percent less calcium and 34 percent less iron than broccoli from prior centuries.

According to agronomist Phil Warman, nutritional deterioration is mostly caused by current agricultural techniques and market focus. “The focus is on beauty, storability, and transportability,” according to his study, “and there has been considerably less attention on the nutritional content of fruits and vegetables.” According to Warman, high-yield production and disease resistance are much more essential to food producers than nutritional value.

“It’s a matter of consumer rights,” says Tim Lang of the United Kingdom. Orange is something we conceive of as a constant, yet it isn’t.”

To receive the same amount of iron as your grandma, you’d have to consume five oranges today and around eight oranges to get the same quantity of vitamin A!

The fact that industrial farms are producing crops on soil with declining nutrient levels is a big issue in terms of nutrient density.

The three feet of dirt covering the Earth and nourishing life is referred to as “the thin brown line” by reporter Tom Paulson. Yet, even though this living biological matrix contains the essential compounds that plants convert into usable nutrients, the National Academy of Sciences reports that American crop soil is eroding at a rate 10 times faster than it can replenish itself, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

According to geologist David Montgomery, topsoil regenerates at a pace of an inch or two per hundred years, but modern agriculture is interfering with the process. “It’s estimated that we’re losing around 1% of our topsoil each year due to erosion, the most of which is caused by agriculture.” So it’s apparent that we’re running out of soil on a global scale.”

The United Nations cautions that soil deterioration throughout the world leads to an increase in malnutrition cases. Industrial agriculture’s cultivation practices give little time for the soil to regenerate.

Last Thoughts

  • Real, unadulterated foods, as opposed to chemically changed, fabricated, or packed with synthetic additives, are the most nutrient-dense. They are high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants while being low in calories.
  • Due to reasons such as mass manufacturing of processed foods, soil depletion, and difficulties obtaining fresh, organic, local foods, it might be challenging to receive all of the nutrients you need today.
  • In addition to fruits and vegetables, other foods have high nutritional density ratings. Wild-caught fish, cage-free eggs, beans and peas, raw nuts and seeds, grass-fed lean meats and poultry, and ancient/whole grains are all examples of healthy foods.
  • Purchasing seasonal/local fruit, cultivating your own garden, and eating more healthful foods like leafy greens, berries, and non-starchy vegetables are some of the greatest methods to boost the nutritional density of your diet.
  • It’s also crucial to avoid low-nutrient-dense meals (processed foods) if you want to get the most nutrition out of your diet.

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