1 Day Plans – All Vitamin &Mineral Requirements

It has been a while since I have sent an example meal plan that gets all your vitamin and mineral needs within one day of eating so today I have three for you. The research shows it is ok to get your vitamin needs across different days as the body stores nutrients but if you can do it all in a day then why not!

For many people they miss out on certain specific nutrients due to their diet. A couple of month’s ago I showed you a vegan plan that achieved all your daily requirements. If you have no specific food restrictions then it is fairly easy to hit all your requirements. To do this make use of the plans below. However, for me the best way is still to use a food data app and create your own days. My favourite for vitamin and mineral intake is cronometer. It is a great way to become aware of what is in food. 

The days below are planned out for a 75kg active male. If you adjust your portion size to change the calorie intake for the day it should match what you need whether eating more or less. Some of the days may too low in calorie intake. You can add in any food once you have consumed the set plan to increase calorific value of the day. Do not replace any foods on the base plans as the vitamin / mineral profile varies greatly between foods and this even applies to similar looking foods such as green veg.

Eating adequate vitamins & minerals is a significant health factor. We discussed this last week about life expectancy which showed eating five fruit and veg aided life expectancy. Part of the reason behind this is taking in adequate micro-nutrients which these diet plans do.

The following plan are examples of how to reach your vitamin & Mineral RDA’s in one day of eating. Calorie and especially micro-nutrient counting are not an exact science with wide range of factors that affect the data. So use this for illustrative purposes and continue to eat a varied and balanced diet.  Targets are set for 75kg active male, information from cronometer.com

Notes on Plans –

You will notice the nutrition plans have gone significantly over the recommended intake of vitamin A. This is in part from the sweet potato (>50% of day’s intake). There are two forms of Vitamin A and toxicity issues are largely related to the active form found in animal products over vegetables ones. However, it shows just some of the many aspects and complications to nutrition.

One of the plan also goes over recommended amounts of Vitamin B12, this is mostly from the chicken liver. While it is over the recommended amount there is not much evidence of adverse toxicity from high B12 intake in normal populations nor is all of it absorbed when in such large amounts (1, 2)

Supplements – Vitamin D Could be fulfilled by going into the sun for 10-60 minutes depending on your skin tone. In the USA/UK the sun is too low in the sky for this effect during the winter months. Outside of sun exposure Vitamin D3 supplements can fulfil the need. Many products are fortified with vitamins which offer another way to hit your targets, e.g. some breakfast cereals