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September 18, 2018Dietary fats and oils: which are good fats and bad fats
September 22, 2018
Vitamins and minerals: how to get enough in your Indian diet?
Nutrition advice for people of Indian subcontinent on how to get enough of healthy foodstuff, to avoid nutritional deficiencies and to get better heart health.
Vitamin and mineral deficiency in Indians
Vitamin and deficiencies are quite common in the Indian population, as per the data of National Institute of Nutrition. Iron deficiency anaemia is the commonest among mineral deficiencies, Iodine, and calcium intake is also lower than recommended. Among the vitamins, vitamin D and B12 deficiencies have gained a lot of attention, but subclinical deficiencies of vitamin A, B complex and C is also common as per ICMR reports
So, what can you do? The two things you should do are: first, try to ensure adequate intake in the diet and second: check whether you need supplements to avoid or correct existing deficiencies
Find below concise information on what foodstuff can help you get enough of vitamins and minerals
| Increase dietary intake to get enough of vitamins and minerals | ||||||
| 1.Nutrients that are commonly consumed less than required in Indian dietary patterns | ||||||
| Nutrient | RDA | Rich sources | Amount per serving of rich source | |||
| Iron | 17 mg/day for men and 21 mg/day for women | Non milk protein sources | 1/2 cup dal gives ~ 2 mg
2 oz meat gives ~ 2mg 1/4th block tofu gives 2 mg 1 egg gives 0.6 mg |
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| Fruits and vegetables | Dark green leafy vegetables gives ~ 1.2 mg per serving (1/2 cup cooked/1 cup raw) | |||||
| Other vegetables give ~ 0.5 mg per serving (1/2 cup) | ||||||
| Fruit-mix, on average give ~ 1.3 mg per serving (100gm) | ||||||
| Nuts | Nut-mix gives ~ 1.1 mg per 1 oz serving | |||||
| Calcium | Indian RDA is 600 mg, but USDA RDA is 1200 mg/day | Milk/curd | 1 cup of cow’s milk or packaged milk/curd give 240 mg
1 cup buffalo milk gives 420 mg |
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| Dark green leafy vegetables | 1 serving gives ~ 100 mg | |||||
| Tofu | ¼ block gives nearly ~ 200 mg | |||||
| Soya chunks/granules | 30 gms (dry weight) gives ~ 100 mg | |||||
| Vitamin A | Indian RDA 600 mcg (2000 IU), USDA RDA is 700 mcg for women and 900 mcg for men | Vegetables | Dark green leafy vegetables
1/2 cup cooked spinach gives ~ 2500 mcg 1/ cup cooked red-orange vegetables gives ~ 660 mcg |
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| Sweet potato | ½ cup mashed gives ~ 5700 mcg | |||||
| Eggs | 1 egg gives 85 mcg | |||||
| Milk | 1 glass toned milk gives 65 mcg whereas full cream gives 130 mcg | |||||
| Vitamin B1 /Thiamin | ranges from 1.1-1.4 mg/day | Rich sources are pulses, animal meat | 1 serving of dal and meat give nearly 0.17 mg | |||
| Whole grains and vegetables also | of grains gives 0.07 mg | |||||
| Vitamin B2 /Riboflavin | ranges from 1.1-1.6 mg/day | B2: Milk and egg are very rich source | 1 cup milk gives 0.45 mg and 1 egg gives 0.25 mg | |||
| Vitamin B3/ Niacin | ranges from 12-16 mg/day | Cereals | ½ cup cooked gives ~ 1mg | |||
| Animal meats | 2 oz meat gives ~ 1mg | |||||
| Vegetables | ½ cup cooked gives ~ 1mg | |||||
| Pulses | ½ cup cooked gives ~ 0.6 mg | |||||
| Vitamin B6/ pyridoxine | ranges from 1.3-2 mg/day | B6: cereals, dal, animal meat and nuts | 1 serving of each gives ~ 0.15 mg | |||
| Folate | Indian RDA is 200 mcg, USDA RDA is 400 mcg/day | Pulses | ½ cup cooked gives ~ 140 mcg | |||
| Animal meats | 2 oz gives ~ 110 mcg | |||||
| Dark green leafy vegetables | ½ cup cooked spinach gives nearly ~ 120 mcg | |||||
| Vitamin B12 | Indian RDA is 1 mcg, USDA RDA is 2.4 mcg/day | Eggs | 1 egg gives 0.6 mcg | |||
| Milk | 1 glass gives 0.3 mcg | |||||
| Animal meats | 2 oz cooked meat gives 0.2 mcg | |||||
| Vitamin D | NIN, India recommends exposure to bright sunlight at least for 5 min per day, of exposed skin (face, arms and legs without sunscreen)
If even that is no possible dietary RDA is 400 mcg USDA RDA is 600 mcg/day |
Fortified food such as milk, oil or breakfast cereals | ||||
| Iodine | 150 mcg/day | Iodised salt | ~ 90 mcg in 1 teaspoon salt (6 gms),
But cooking losses could be 20-40%, so add salt at the end of cooking, if possible |
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| 2.Nutrients that are not found deficient in Indian diet, but whose even higher consumption is protective for lifestyle diseases | ||||||
| Nutrient | RDA | Rich sources | Amount per serving | |||
| Omega 3 fatty acids | Minimum 0.5% of total calories ~ 0.6-1.7 gms/day for 1000-3000 calorie diets | Oils:
Mustard oil Canola oil Soybean oil |
1 tablespoon oil gives
2 gms 2.8 gms 1 gm |
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| Seeds:
Flaxseeds, Methi, Mustard seeds |
1 tablespoon will give
2.5 gms 0.28 gms 0.55 gms |
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| Nuts:
Walnut Almond |
14 halves gives 1.4 gm
22 almonds give 0.1 gm |
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| Fish
Oily (more than 5% fat) Less oily fish |
2 oz serving gives 0.56 gms
2 oz serving gives .1-.3 gms |
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| Potassium | Indian RDA for men 3750 mg, for women 3225 mg
US RDA is 4700 mg/day |
Milk | 1 cup gives ~ 300 mg | |||
| Starchy vegetables | ½ cup cooked gives ~ 300 mg | |||||
| Animal meats | 2 oz gives ~ 250 mg | |||||
| days | 2 oz gives nearly ~ 250 mg | |||||
| Magnesium | For men:
Indian RDA is 340 mg and US RDA is 420 mg For women: 310-320 mg/day |
Dark green leafy vegetables | ½ cup cooked gives ~ 150 mg | |||
| Nuts | 1 oz gives ~ 60 mg | |||||
| Oats | ½ cup cooked gives ~ 75 mg | |||||
| Soy products | ¼ block tofu gives ~ 40 mg | |||||
While trying to ensure good intake of vitamins and minerals in diet is good, you should also check out if you are at risk of deficiency of some of them and need supplements. Check out, supplements: should you be taking any
CHECK OUT: Our references for recommendations on diet
