8 Tips to Ensure You're Getting Enough Daily Nutrients

Are you getting adequate nutrients for your body? In today's fast-paced world where convenience often takes precedence over nutrition, the importance of ensuring our diets are rich in essential nutrients can sometimes get lost.

The food choices we make can have a profound impact on our health, influencing not only our physical well-being but also our mental and emotional state. It is valuable, then, to take steps to maintain a balanced diet that provides the body with the necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients it requires to function optimally.

From bolstering our immune systems to supporting long-term health, a nutrient-rich diet is a foundational step toward a healthier and more vibrant life. Here are eight tips to get you started.

1. Eat a Variety of Fruits and Vegetables

If you're eating an apple a day to keep the doctor away, you may want to add in an orange and a cucumber, too. Different fruits and vegetables contain different kinds and amounts of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. By consuming a wide range of these foods, you can increase the likelihood of getting a more diverse mix of nutrients.¹

One easy way to integrate more variety? Aim for color. From red bell peppers to yellow bananas, green apples to purple eggplants, aiming to eat an assortment of colors each meal and each day can help you add in more variety to your diet.²

2. Choose Nutrient-Dense Foods

Not all calories are created equal. While adequate caloric intake is important for our body's growth, development, energy and health, aiming to eat nutrient-dense foods will help ensure the most nutrient bang for your calorie buck.³

Nutrient density is based on the amount of nutrients a food has relative to its calories.⁴ According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, nutrient-dense foods tend to be high in vitamins and minerals and low in salt, sugar, starches and unhealthy fats like saturated fat.⁵ Examples include salmon, sardines, kale, berries, eggs and garlic.⁶

While everything you eat doesn't need to fall into the nutrient-dense category, prioritizing adding in nutrient dense foods to each meal can help ensure your body is getting the building blocks it needs.

3. Don't Neglect Protein

While vitamins and minerals are key elements to overall health, protein is one of the essential building blocks for the body and vital for bone-building, brain health, energy, cell processes and ensuring our organs function properly.⁷ Choosing high-quality, nutrient-dense sources of protein such as eggs, lentils, chicken, fish and cottage cheese should be an important part of any healthy diet.⁸

How much protein you should eat will vary based on the overall calorie needs of your body, which are impacted by elements such as your age, sex, health and activity level. On average for healthy adults, the daily recommended protein intake is 10% to 35% of total calories consumed. The average person on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet would then aim to eat about 100 grams or 400 calories of protein each day.⁷

4. Bump Up Your Fiber

While perhaps not as glamorous as vitamins or healthy fats, fiber is a key nutrient for healthy digestion and satiation. Eating adequate amounts of fiber can help lower cholesterol levels and control blood sugar. Food high in fiber also helps keep us feel full longer, which can make it less likely we will grab that handful of chips or that second cookie.¹

On average, adults should aim to consume about 28 grams of dietary fiber a day. Good sources of fiber include lentils, beans, popcorn, whole grain cereals, carrots, celery, nuts like almonds or pistachios or whole fruits like pears or apples.¹

5. Stay Hydrated

Proper nutrition is not just about what you eat — what you drink matters, too. Adequate water intake is important for helping your body regulate temperature, ensure elimination processes, lubricate your joints and support a number of other bodily functions.⁹

While water is always an excellent choice, other beverages can provide opportunities to make nutritionally wise decisions as well. Opt for low- or no-calorie options or beverages that might have added nutritional value, such as no-calorie sparkling water or orange juice fortified with pulp and vitamin D.⁹

6. Don't Forget About Fats

While fats often get a bad rap when it comes to nutrition, ensuring your diet contains enough of certain kinds of fats is a key component of your overall health. Along with carbohydrates and protein, dietary fat is one of the three key macronutrients.⁴ Fats are an important source of energy for the body, as well as being used for cell development and helping the body properly absorb some vitamins and minerals.²

Some research has also shown that healthy fats play a vital role in decreasing the risk of heart disease and helping control blood sugar.¹⁰

Ensuring your diet contains healthy fats such as monounsaturated fats found in avocados, almonds and olive oil, as well as polyunsaturated fats found in food like fatty fish, walnuts and flax seeds can help you stay satiated and energized.¹⁰

7. Limit Processed and Sugary Foods

While a sugary soda or processed snack food might taste good in the moment, they don't offer much nutritional benefit for the body. Highly processed foods often contain high levels of salt, sugar and unhealthy fats that not only contain no nutrients, but over time can actually cause additional health issues for the body.¹¹

Finding healthy swaps for processed foods can benefit both your nutrition profile and your waistline. Instead of sweetened breakfast cereal, try rolled oat oatmeal with a drizzle of honey. Instead of takeout fried chicken, try a roast chicken made at home. Craving something sweet? Swap a store-bought candy bar for a square of dark chocolate and you'll get all the satisfaction with nutritional benefit!¹¹ (Dark chocolate is high in fiber, magnesium and copper.¹²)

8. Consider Dietary Supplements

If you're having difficulty getting adequate amounts of certain nutrients from food alone, you may want to consider supplementing. While consuming a nutrient-dense diet is often the preferred method, factors such as food allergies or sensitivities, the availability of certain produce or mere taste preferences may prevent you from consuming a diverse range of nutrients.¹³

In these cases, dietary supplements can play a role in supporting a varied nutrient profile. Consider getting input from a medical professional if you are actually deficient in a particular vitamin or mineral and the best way to supplement. If you do use supplements, be sure to read labels, take as directed and notice any impact or side effects on your overall health.¹³

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Author Bio

Kate Bayless is a health and wellness freelance writer with 15 years of experience. Her work has appeared in Parents, Women's Health, Beachbody and OpenFit.