American Medical Association Family Medical Guide - American Medical Association [35]
While taking a daily multivitamin can be beneficial, it should not take the place of a healthy diet. Foods supply many nutrients—such as fiber, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants and phytochemicals—that are not present in supplements. Avoid taking massive doses of specific vitamins or minerals, which can be harmful and can increase or reduce your body’s absorption of other vitamins and minerals. For example, fat-soluble vitamins such as A and D (which are not eliminated in urine, as are the water-soluble vitamins) can cause serious health problems. Unless you are a menstruating woman or you have been diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia (see page 610), take a multivitamin that does not contain iron or that has no more than 15 milligrams of iron. Excess levels of iron are linked to an increased risk of heart disease.
Some Foods That Pack Lots of Nutrients
Nutrition experts recommend consuming a varied diet to make sure you meet all of your nutritional needs. The following foods seem to be especially dense in beneficial nutrients. Including them in your diet can go a long way toward ensuring good health and preventing disease.
Food Nutrient
Cooked tomatoes (tomato sauce or soup, stewed tomatoes, tomato juice), which seem especially potent when cooked in oil Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that may help prevent certain types of cancer (including prostate cancer) and heart disease; vitamin C, an antioxidant that keeps bones, teeth, and skin healthy, helps wounds heal, and fights certain types of cancer; potassium, a mineral that helps maintain the body’s fluid balance, transmit nerve signals, and produce energy, and may help lower blood pressure and prevent an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia).
Dark green, leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, and other greens Folate (folic acid), which prevents birth defects and can lower the risk of heart disease; calcium, which builds strong bones and teeth, enhances muscle function, and helps control blood pressure; lutein, an antioxidant that helps prevent macular degeneration (a common cause of blindness); iron, which prevents anemia; potassium (see above); and vitamin C (see above).
Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, bok choy, brussels sprouts, and cabbage The antioxidant beta-carotene, which fights certain types of cancer; vitamin C (see above); fiber, which helps reduce the risk of heart disease; and potassium (see above).
Unsalted nuts Monounsaturated fats, protein, fiber, vitamin E, folate, and copper and other minerals, which help protect against heart disease, cancer, and cataracts.
Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries Antioxidants, which reduce the risk of cancer and slow the aging process and may aid memory by protecting brain cells.
Fresh (not pickled or smoked) fish, including salmon, herring, mackerel, tuna, and other oily cold-water fish Omega-3 fatty acids, which help protect the heart, improve cholesterol levels, and reduce joint pain and inflammation.
Oats and other whole grains Soluble fiber, which improves cholesterol levels; B vitamins, which help convert proteins to energy and maintain healthy eyes, skin, and nerve function; and the antioxidant vitamin E (see above).
Fat-free dairy foods Calcium (see above); protein, which is essential for building, maintaining, and repairing tissues; vitamin A, an antioxidant that is essential for growth and development and for maintaining healthy vision, skin, and mucous membranes; vitamin D, which is essential for building bones and teeth and for helping the body absorb and use calcium.
Nutrition experts have acclaimed the antioxidant vitamins—vitamin C, the carotenoids (including beta-carotene, lycopene, and lutein) and vitamin E—for their ability to protect cells from damage caused by free radicals, harmful by-products of the body’s normal chemical processes. Damage from free radicals is linked to all the common chronic diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.