Is the food enough? Part II

The question raised earlier remains open:

“Is the food enough to meet my needs for certain vitamins and minerals?”

Earlier we discussed whether food is enough to get good levels of Vitamins and concluded that if our diet is rich in nutritious foods, such as plant foods (e.g. vegetables and fruit), we can get good levels of many vitamins.

In this article, we will understand whether the diet is still sufficient to obtain one of the commonly supplemented nutrients. As always, we cannot exclude exceptions: situations in which the body is unable to absorb sufficient quantities or even when needs may be increased.

 

Let’s look at Calcium, what are some of the food sources and how we can reach our daily nutritional needs.

An adult under 50 years of age has a daily requirement of 1000 mg (except in specific clinical cases). In this case, by eating a rich and varied diet throughout the day, they can obtain the necessary values.

 

Food	Calcium (100 g) *
Low-fat milk (1 glass – 200 g)	110 mg
Natural low-fat yogurt (1 unit – 125 g)	160 mg
Dutch cheese (1 slice – 20 g)	830 mg
Cottage cheese (½ unit – 100 g)	390 mg
Soy beverage enriched with Calcium (1 glass – 200 g)	120 mg
Spinach, raw (½ plate – 100 g)	100 g
Broccoli, boiled (½ plate – 150 g)	56 mg
Kale, boiled (½ plate – 50 g)	260 mg
Cabbage, boiled (½ plate – 50 g)	71 mg
Sprouts, boiled (1/2 plate – 50 g)	120 mg
Tofu (½ unit – 200 g)	130 mg
Soy, boiled (1 portion – 100 g)	82 mg
Almonds with skin (1 handful – 30 g)	270 mg
Hazelnut (1 handful – 30 g)	250 mg
Salmon (1 fillet – 135 g)	61 mg
Medium-fat Sardine, grilled (2 units – 120 g)	67 mg

 

* Values of Calcium per 100 g of edible part, referenced by the Food Composition Table of the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge.

 

By putting together a varied meal day, it is possible to meet daily needs. According to the example:

Breakfast – 1 glass of enriched soy beverage + 1 whole wheat bread + 1 slice of Dutch cheese
Lunch – ½ plate of spinach as a side dish
Afternoon snack – 1 natural yogurt + 1 handful of almonds/hazelnuts
Dinner – ½ plate of kale + grilled salmon or sardines

With only these foods, we can reach the nutritional Calcium needs for one day. However, by adding more foods, such as bread or oat flakes, we can increase the Calcium levels even more, ensuring the maintenance of proper bone health.

In the case of a vegetarian diet, it is still important to include Calcium-rich foods in the daily diet and to give preference to Calcium-enriched options, such as soy drinks. Even so, it is possible to achieve the daily Calcium levels with this diet.

 

Once again, we can understand how food is the answer to some of the problems, as long as it is varied and rich in nutrients, including foods from the various food groups in the right quantities.

 

Nutritionist, Jacinta Mendes
3341N