Getting all your nutrients from food—even if you’re dieting, from Harvard Women’s Health Watch

Harvard Women’s Health WatchHarvard Women’s Health Watch

A balanced diet—one containing plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains—offers a mix of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that collectively meet the body’s needs. It’s not an issue of food quantity but rather food quality. Even a low-calorie diet can deliver all the vitamins and minerals you need with one exception—vitamin D. So plan to take a vitamin D supplement. Getting the rest of your nutrients through diet requires some planning and some knowledge about food. The focus should be on nutrient-dense foods such as legumes, Brussels sprouts, kale, eggs, seeds, almonds, and fish, which are packed with vitamins and minerals and have relatively few calories.

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