What You Need To Know About Micronutrients
by team nuut
Untangling the world of vitamins, minerals and plant-based protein powder
Thanks to the power of vitamins and minerals, every moment of every day, there are thousands of chemical fireworks going off in our bodies. Wow, pow, boom, each one has a dramatic effect on our body, from healing wounds and illuminating skin to boosting our immune system and converting food into energy.
To light these fireworks and for our bodies to do amazing things, it’s essential that we fuel them properly, and that is by consuming essential vitamins and minerals every day.
To maintain the body's systems, from brain, muscle, bone and nerves to skin, blood and immune system, we require proper doses of macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients include proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, and micronutrients are vitamins and minerals, including iron, cobalt, chromium, iodine, copper, zinc, and molybdenum.
When we are deficient in nutrients, it can affect our body's growth and development, causing visible and dangerous health conditions that can reduce energy levels, mental clarity and overall capacity. Centuries ago, British sailors discovered that forgoing fresh fruits and vegetables, the primary sources of vitamin C, caused bleeding gums and the fatal disease scurvy. Today, deficiencies in iron, vitamin A and iodine are the most common globally, particularly in children and pregnant women. Many third-world countries see people suffering from various nutrient-deficiency diseases due to a lack of food and fresh produce.
Fortunately, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, where the lack of a single nutrient can cause illness, are rare because of our extensive supply of inexpensive food and supplementation of essential nutrients. However, not eating enough nutritional whole foods can contribute to significant illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis.
So, What Are Vitamins?
Vitamins are carbon-containing molecules that are either water-soluble or fat-soluble. Natural elements like heat, oxygen, light, and chemical processes can alter and inactivate them. A food's vitamin content depends on its growing conditions and how it is processed, stored and prepared.
Vitamins provide a range of health benefits, including:
• strengthening the immune system
• preventing or delaying some cancers
• strengthening teeth and bones
• helping calcium absorption
• keeping skin and blood healthy
• helping the body to metabolise proteins and carbohydrates
• aiding the brain and nervous system to function at the optimal level
The 13 essential vitamins are divided into two groups: fat-soluble and water-soluble.
Water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body, so it’s important to consume them regularly. They also must be dissolved in water before your body can absorb them properly. Any water-soluble vitamins your body doesn’t require are passed through your system when you urinate. The absorbed nutrients pass directly into your bloodstream, releasing and producing energy and building proteins and cells.
These include:
• vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin)
• vitamin B-5 (pantothenic acid)
• vitamin B-9 (folate, folic acid)
When we eat a daily diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins, our body gets all the vitamins they need to operate.
Here are the vitamin-rich foods to stock up on:
• Vitamin A (Retinoids): Eggs, fish, butter, cheddar cheese, sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, spinach and mangoes
• Vitamin D (Calciferol): Fortified milk or margarine and fatty fish
• Vitamin E (Alpha-Tocopherol): Vegetable oils, margarine, wheat germ, leafy green vegetables, whole grains and nuts
• Vitamin K: Cabbage, liver, eggs, milk, spinach, broccoli, sprouts, kale and other green vegetables
• Vitamin B1 (Thiamin): Pork chops, brown rice, soy milk and watermelons
• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): Milk, eggs, yoghurt, cheese, meats, green leafy vegetables, whole grains and cereals
• Vitamin B3 (Niacin): Meat, poultry, fish, fortified and whole grains, mushrooms, potatoes and peanut butter
• Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid): Chicken, egg yolk, whole grains, broccoli, mushrooms, avocados and tomato products
• Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine): Meat, fish, poultry, legumes, tofu and other soy products, potatoes, non-citrus fruits such as bananas and watermelons
• Vitamin B7: Whole grains, egg yolks, soybeans and fish
• Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin): fish, milk, cheese and eggs and meats, including poultry,
• Vitamin B9 (Folate): Asparagus, okra, spinach, broccoli, legumes and orange juice
• Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid): Fruits and their juices, potatoes, broccoli, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes and Brussels sprouts.
When we don't consume enough vitamins, it's important to supplement our diet. Vegan protein powders like nuut are formulated with one-third of our daily nutritional needs and include vitamins a, c, d, k, and complex b vitamins.
What Are Minerals?
Minerals are naturally occurring elements or compounds. Unlike vitamins, they can't be altered or destroyed by heat or light and are found in elements like bone, shells, and soil. A plant's mineral content can be dependent on its growing conditions, soil content and the maturation of the plant.
There are two groups of minerals, macro and trace minerals, which our bodies need to operate.
Macro Minerals
Macro is Greek for “large” which is why we need a larger amount of this type of mineral to help balance water levels, improve bone health and maintain healthy skin, hair, and nails.
They include:
• calcium
• sulphur
• sodium
• chloride
Pack your diet with foods brimming with minerals:
• Phosphorus: Milk and dairy products, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, liver, peas, broccoli, potatoes and almonds
• Magnesium: Green vegetables, legumes, cashews, sunflower seeds, whole-wheat bread and milk
• Sodium: Salt, soy sauce, processed foods and vegetables
• Potassium: Meat, milk, fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes
• Chloride: Salt, soy sauce and processed foods
• Sulphur: Eggs, legumes, nuts and dairy
• Iron: Liver, shellfish, nuts, seeds, whole-grain products, beans, prunes, cocoa and black pepper
• Manganese: Fish, nuts, legumes, whole grains and tea
• Copper: Liver, shellfish, nuts, seeds, whole-grain products, beans, prunes, cocoa and black pepper
• Iodine: Iodized salt, processed foods and seafood
• Zinc: Red meat, poultry, oysters, beans and nuts
• Cobalt: Fish, nuts and green leafy vegetables
• Fluoride: Fluoridated water and dental products
• Selenium: Organ meats, seafood, walnuts and grain products
Luckily, just one nuut a day provides your body with essential minerals, including iron, zinc, and magnesium. Add water or nut-based milk, shake and ramp up your micronutrient quota. Head to our full ingredients list and learn more about how nuut can nourish your body’s systems.
Supplementing Our Daily Diets
About 60 percent of Aussies consume nutritional supplements daily. nuut plant-based protein powder from Perth is one of their go-tos to help boost energy, assist healthy weight management, and support muscle recovery. Because premium whole food is the cornerstone of good health, nuut is formulated using science and plant-based bioavailable ingredients to give your body precisely what it needs.
Nutritionally complete, each on-the-go meal is fortified with vitamins and minerals like a multivitamin, making it easy for everyone to access high-quality, convenient and affordable nutrition. At around 200 calories and $5 per meal, nuut has fewer calories and costs less than a muffin. It tastes better too!
We’re all time-strapped, so ensuring you get all the micronutrients you need should be as simple as possible. nuut sachets are designed to be easily stashed in your bag, pocket, or desk drawer. nuut is easy-to-make, take and delicious too. simply add one sachet to water, nut milk, and smoothies to provide complex whole food nutrition to your daily diet. Follow keto or paleo diets or intermittent fasting? nuut blends work synergistically, making it even easier to stick to your regime.
How Many Different Vitamins And Minerals Do We Need?
We all need different amounts of vitamins and minerals. This can depend on our age, sex, and for women during pregnancy, breastfeeding and menopause. Calcium needs are at their highest during adolescence because when we are young, this is the time our bones are growing at their fastest.
For those on vegan or vegetarian diets, it can be difficult to get enough of some vitamins or minerals from plant-based foods as they may not be absorbed as easily by the body, a process referred to as ‘bioavailability’. Some plant foods like beans, lentils, nuts and green vegetables contain phytates and oxalate, which are compounds that bind to minerals, including iron, zinc and calcium, making them less bioavailable.
Below are some of the nutrients that may require more consideration if you are following a vegetarian or vegan diet:
• Vitamin B12: include foods fortified with vitamin B12 in your diet (such as fortified breakfast cereals) or take a vitamin B12 supplement.
• Iron: beans, lentils, nuts, wholemeal bread and dried fruit provide ‘non-haem’ iron that is less bioavailable than the ‘haem’ iron provided by meat. Including a source of vitamin C with meals, like orange juice, citrus or peppers, can increase the absorption of non-haem iron from the diet.
• Calcium: fortified dairy alternatives, dried fruits, some green leafy vegetables (such as kale and watercress), bread and calcium-set tofu all increase the calcium levels in your meals.
• Iodine: Milk and milk products increase iodine which is often at a low level in plant foods, although the amount varies depending on the levels in the soil where the plants were grown. Some plant-based milk alternatives, including oat and soya drinks, are fortified with iodine, but always check the label.
• Vitamin D: Plant-based sources of vitamin D include fortified foods like vegetable spreads, breakfast cereals, and some plant-based dairy alternatives. Vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 from lichen are vegan-friendly options.
So, when it comes to achieving the best health of your life, follow a nutritional plan that balances macronutrients, micronutrients, calories and of course, nuut ;)
Remember, while micronutrients do not provide a caloric value, they are essential in keeping our body's systems running smoothly. So, eat a rainbow and supplement your daily dietary intake with nuut vegan protein powder then wait for the fireworks to begin. Your body will love you for it.