Question

In the dietary supplements aisle of the grocery store, the choices are endless—and expensive. Julie, a college sophomore, just read the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ position paper on nutrient supplementation for her class. She learned that dietary supplements, such as a balanced multivitamin and mineral supplement, can be a good back-up plan to ensure adequate nutrition, but the jury is still out when it comes to demonstrating a benefit of dietary supplements for long-term health. The majority of Americans regularly take nutrient supplements, but it is usually the people who already consume a healthy diet who take them. Getting more than the recommended amount of a nutrient does not confer additional health benefits. In fact, too much of some vitamins and minerals can lead to toxicity.

Julie decides she would rather focus on getting her nutrients from whole foods. How can she get the most vitamins and minerals out of the foods she eats?

- What factors can damage or reduce vitamins in food?

- To maximize vitamin content, what should Julie keep in mind as she selects fresh produce for purchase?

- How does food processing affect vitamin and mineral content? Does it make a difference if Julie chooses products with whole grains or refined grains?

- When storing fruits and vegetables in her apartment, what steps can Julie take to minimize nutrient losses?

- Which cooking methods are best for preserving vitamin content?

Answer 1

Here, in this scenario Julie decided to get her nutrients from whole foods. Whole foods are the foods with little or no refining or processing and contain no artificial additives or preservatives.

- In order to get most vitamins and minerals out of the food she eat, she has to take a healthy or balanced diet. This includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat and diary products.

- Factors that can damage or reduce the vitamins in food includes the following:

* Processes that expose the food to high levels of heat, light and oxygen can cause the greatest nutrient loss

* Usage of preservatives

* Over cooking- over cooking can reduce the nutrient content in food

* Cooking techniques like sauteing, boiling, baking and roasting

* Usage of fertilizers and pesticides

* Dehydration- drying out food can also lead to loss of vitamins

* Health condition and lifestyle factors- some health condition affects the absorption of vitamins

* Process like milling, blanching, freezing, canning etc can also lead to reduction in vitamin level.

- As Julie purchases food,

•she should avoid processed food items

• avoid food which has any preservatives added

• buy vegetables and fruits which are fresh

• Avoid canned food

- Food processing can expose the food to high levels of heat, light and oxygen. This can lead to greatest nutrient loss from food items. For example, Blanching of food items can destroy the water soluble vitamins like vitamin C and B complex.

It is better to buy products with whole grain than refined grain. This is because whole grains are better source of fibre and other nutrients as compared to refined grain. Refined grains are milled, a process that remove the bran and germs to give a fine texture and improve the shelf life. Thus removes the nutrients in it.

- This steps can be followed to minimize nutrient loss

* Store the fruits and vegetables in a refrigerator

* Store foods properly like keeping cold foods cold and sealing some foods in airtight containers

* Keep vegetables in the crisper section of the refrigerator

* Foods which need to be stored in room temperature like onions, garlic etc doesn't need refrigerator.

* Use a proper lid for all food storage containers

* Don't wash most produce before storage, because moisture often promotes mould growth.

* Keep refrigerators and coolers at 41 degree Fahrenheit or below

* Use food rotation labels like first in and first out to ensure that which food need to be used first.

* Fruits and vegetables which has chances of spoiling fast needed to be used first than others which can stay for longer period of time.

-. Steaming is the best method for preserving nutrient content. The hot steam cook your food particularly gently, which means the vitamins and minerals are preserved. Too much of water can reduce the nutrient in food, here in steaming, food items doesn't come to contact with water, thereby there is no loss of nutrients.