What, How Much and Why?

I think most of us know that fruits and vegetables are good for us, but most of us, including myself, don’t know exactly how much fruit or how many different vegetables we should eat throughout the day, in order to get our Recommended Dietary Allowances(RDAs) of Vitamins and Minerals.  I’m going to try and break the Vitamin and Mineral game down for all of you, so you know the easiest ways to get your Vitamins and Minerals through healthy food choices.

Vitamin A

What is it?

-Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in many foods. There are two different types of vitamin A. The first type, preformed vitamin A, is found in meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products. The second type, provitamin A, is found in fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based products.

Which foods contain Vitamin A, and how much of that food do you need to eat to get your Recommended Dietary Allowance(RDA)?

1 Sweet Potato, Baked, in skin 561% DV

3 oz Pan Fried Beef Liver 444% DV

1/2 Cup Raw Boiled/Steamed Spinach 229% DV

1/2 Cup Raw Carrots 184% DV

1/2 Cup Raw Cantaloupe 54% DV

1/2 Cup Raw Red Sweet Pepper 47% DV

*DV = Daily Value. DVs were developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help consumers compare the nutrient contents of products within the context of a total diet. The DV for vitamin A is 5,000 IU for adults and children age 4 and older. Foods providing 20% or more of the DV are considered to be high sources of a nutrient.

Why does my body need it?

-Vitamin A is involved in immune function, vision, reproduction, and cellular communication. Vitamin A is critical for vision.  Vitamin A also supports cell growth and differentiation, playing a critical role in the normal formation and maintenance of the heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs. Two forms of vitamin A are available in the human diet: preformed vitamin A (retinol and its esterified form, retinyl ester) and provitamin A carotenoids [1-5]. Preformed vitamin A is found in foods from animal sources, including dairy products, fish, and meat (especially liver). By far the most important provitamin A carotenoid is beta-carotene; other provitamin A carotenoids are alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin. The body converts these plant pigments into vitamin A. Both provitamin A and preformed vitamin A must be metabolized intracellularly to retinal and retinoic acid, the active forms of vitamin A, to support the vitamin’s important biological functions.

How much of it do I need per day?

-The Daily Value (DV) for vitamin A is 5,000 IU for adults and children age 4 and older.(Ex. 1 Baked Sweet Potato = 28,058 IU and 1/2 Cup Raw Carrots = 9,189 IU)

Source: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/

Vitamin B12

What is it?

-Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in some foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement and a prescription medication. Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that helps keep the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all cells. Vitamin B12 also helps prevent a type of anemia called megaloblastic anemia that makes people tired and weak.

What food is Vitamin A in, and how much of that food do you need to eat to get your Daily Value(DV)?

Clams, cooked (3 ounces = 84.1 micrograms(mcg))

Beef Liver, cooked (3 ounces = 70.7mcg)

Trout, Rainbow, wild, cooked (3 ounces = 5.4mcg)

Salmon, sockeye, cooked (3 ounces = 4.8mcg)

Trout, Rainbow, farmed, Cooked (3 ounces = 3.5mcg)

Tuna fish, canned, in water (3 ounces = 2.5mcg)

Beef, top sirloin, broiled (3 ounces = 1.4mcg)

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of Vitamin B12 for people 14 years and older is 2.4mcg

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97%–98%) healthy individuals.

The Daily Value(DV) of Vitamin B12 is 6.0mcg.

DV = Daily Value. DVs were developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help consumers determine the level of various nutrients in a standard serving of food in relation to their approximate requirement for it. However, the FDA does not require food labels to list vitamin B12 content unless a food has been fortified with this nutrient.

Why does my body need it?

-Vitamin B12 is required for proper red blood cell formation, neurological function, and DNA synthesis.

Two steps are required for the body to absorb vitamin B12 from food. First, hydrochloric acid in the stomach separates vitamin B12 from the protein to which vitamin B12 is attached in food. After this, vitamin B12 combines with a protein made by the stomach called intrinsic factor and is absorbed by the body. Some people have pernicious anemia, a condition where they cannot make intrinsic factor. As a result, they have trouble absorbing vitamin B12 from all foods and dietary supplements

How much of it do I need per day?

-The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of Vitamin B12 for people 14 years and older is 2.4mcg

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97%–98%) healthy individuals.

The Daily Value(DV) of Vitamin B12 is 6.0mcg.

DV = Daily Value. DVs were developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help consumers determine the level of various nutrients in a standard serving of food in relation to their approximate requirement for it. However, the FDA does not require food labels to list vitamin B12 content unless a food has been fortified with this nutrient.

Source: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/

Vitamin B6

What is it?

-Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in many foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement.The richest sources of vitamin B6 include fish, beef liver and other organ meats, potatoes and other starchy vegetables, and fruit (other than citrus).

What food is Vitamin B6 in, and how much of that food do you need to eat to get your Recommended Dietary Allowance(RDA)?

Beef liver, pan fried (3 ounces = 0.9 milligrams(mg))

Tuna, yellow fin, fresh, cooked (3 ounces = 0.9mg)

Salmon, sockeye, cooked, (3 ounces 0.6)

Chicken breast, roasted (3 ounces = 0.5mg)

Turkey, meat only, roasted (3 ounces = 0.4mg)

Banana (1 medium = 0.4mg)

Ground beef, patty, 85% lean, broiled (3 ounces = 0.3mg)

Squash, winter, baked (½ cup = 0.2mg)

Nuts, mixed, dry-roasted (1 ounce = 0.1mg)

Raisins, seedless (½ cup = 0.1mg)

Onions, chopped (½ cup = 0.1mg)

Spinach, frozen, chopped, boiled (½ cup = 0.1mg)

Watermelon, raw (1 cup = 0.1mg)

-The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of Vitamin B6 for people 14-8 years of age is 1.3mg for Males and 1.2mg for Women. The RDA of Vitamin B6 for people 19-15 years of age is 1.3mg for Men and Women. The RDA of Vitamin B6 for people 51+ years of age is 1.7mg for Men and 1.5mg for Women.

-Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97%–98%) healthy individuals.

-The Daily Value(DV) of Vitamin B6 is 2 mg for adults and children 4 and older.

-DV = Daily Value. DVs were developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help consumers determine the level of various nutrients in a standard serving of food in relation to their approximate requirement for it. However, the FDA does not require food labels to list vitamin B12 content unless a food has been fortified with this nutrient.

Why does my body need it?

-The body needs vitamin B6 for more than 100 enzyme reactions involved in metabolism. Vitamin B6 is also involved in brain development during pregnancy and infancy as well as immune function. Vitamin B6 is involved in gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis, immune function (for example, it promotes lymphocyte and interleukin-2 production), and hemoglobin formation.

How much of it do I need per day?

-The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of Vitamin B6 for people 14-8 years of age is 1.3mg for Males and 1.2mg for Women. The RDA of Vitamin B6 for people 19-15 years of age is 1.3mg for Men and Women. The RDA of Vitamin B6 for people 51+ years of age is 1.7mg for Men and 1.5mg for Women.

-The Daily Value(DV) of Vitamin B6 is 2 mg for adults and children 4 and older.

Sources: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional/

Calcium

What foods is it in, and how much of that food do you need to eat to get your Recommended Dietary Allowance(RDA)?

3 ounces Sardines, Canned in oil, with bones 325 mg, 32.5% DV

3 ounces Salmon, Pink, Canned, Solids with Bones 181 mg, 18% DV

1/2 Cup Almonds 189 mg, 18.9%

1 Cup of Kale, Raw, Chopped 100 mg, 10% DV

1 Cup of Kale, Cooked, Chopped 94 mg, 9.4% DV

Why does my body need it?

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body.  Calcium is required for vascular contraction and vasodilation, muscle function, nerve transmission, intracellular signaling and hormonal secretion.  It is important to know that only 1%of total body calcium the critical metabolic functions listed previously. The other 99% of the body’s Calcium is stored in the body’s bones and teeth where is supports its structure and function.

How much of it do I need per day?

*DV = Daily Value.

The DV for vitamin Calcium is 1000 mg for adults and children age 4 and older.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance(RDA) for Males and Females 14-18 years of age is 1,300 mg.  The RDA for Males and Females 19-50 is 1,000 mg. The RDA for Males and Females 70+ is 1,200 mg.

Source: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/