Question

1. In regard to vitamin intake, why is it important to consume a wide variety of foods?
2. List six groups of people who may benefit from taking a vitamin supplement.
3. You have just purchased fresh spinach from the Farmers’ Market. What are three suggestions for storing and preparing the spinach to retain its vitamin content?

Answer 1

1) Because different foods provide differenttypes and amounts of key nutrients, it isimportant to choose a variety of foodsfrom within each food group.
Vitamins and minerals are considered essential nutrients—because acting in concert, they perform hundreds of roles in the body. They help shore up bones, heal wounds, and bolster your immune system. They also convert food into energy, and repair cellular damage.
2) Vegetarians and Vegans: If you are vegetarian or vegan, intake of certain nutrients including calcium, vitamin D, B12, zinc and iron may be sub-optimal.
Following a plant-based diet doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be missing nutrients but you may have to work harder and plan out your diet more carefully in order to obtain the spectrum of nutrients your body needs.
Sometimes taking a multivitamin can ensure you have your nutritional bases covered, just in case you are unknowingly missing out on something.

Adults over 50: Even if following a well-balanced diet, adults over the age of 50 require additional vitamin supplementation, including that of vitamin D and vitamin B12.
With age the body’s ability to process these vitamins decreases, thereby increasing risk for deficiency. Including a daily multivitamin that includes both of these nutrients can be just with the older body needs.

Pregnant and Lactating Women: Nutrient requirements of many vitamins and minerals increase during pregnancy and lactation to support the developing fetus and baby, respectively.

Taking a prenatal multivitamin while pregnant and lactating (especially while exclusivelybreastfeeding in those first 6 months) can help ensure you are getting all the nutrients you need to support a healthy pregnancy and baby.

With something as important as the health of your child, taking a multivitamin is something simple that can be done to help ensure the best possible outcome...a healthy baby!
Women of Childbearing Age: Did you know that folic acid is needed to prevent neural tube defects in developing fetuses? Wondering what this has to do with non-pregnant women of childbearing age?

Well, as these defects can occur quite early in the pregnancy (often before a pregnancy is even known), it is recommended that all women of childbearing age women take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid daily. While one could simply take a folic acid supplement, a multivitamin also provides extra iron, and vitamin D which can fall short in this age group.

3) With 3 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, no fat or cholesterol and only 7 calories per cup, spinach is a highly nutritious food. According to the United States Department of Agriculture's Nutrient Database, each cup provides you with supplemental amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, as well as a wide array of antioxidant vitamins. Cooking spinach can decrease its nutritional value, but some cooking methods are better than others. Finding alternative ways of preparing this leafy green will help you get the maximum nutritional benefit from eating it. To maximize the amount of nutrients you get, buy fresh, locally grown spinach. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University discovered that after only eight days of cold storage, a bag of commercially packaged spinach loses about half of its folate and carotenoid content, even when stored at near freezing temperatures. Manufacturers generally advise that spinach should be sold within 14 days, so if you buy it during the final week of its shelf life, you could be sacrificing nutrients.