what vitamins do i need for no vegetalbes

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Vitamins and minerals
---------------------

Am I getting enough selenium?
Can you get calcium from carrot juice?
Does what I eat affect the health of my bones?
Do I need to eat dairy products to get enough calcium?
Is folic acid good for men as well as women?
Can you get too much calcium from food?
Do vitamin supplements do me any good?
What foods should I eat to increase my iron intake?
How can I get enough calcium if I'm lactose intolerant?

Am I getting enough selenium?
-----------------------------

If you eat meat, fish or nuts, you should be able to get all the
selenium you need from your daily diet.

Meat, fish and nuts are the best sources of selenium but we also get
some selenium from bread. Although bread doesn't contain as much
selenium, if you eat it regularly it will make a significant
contribution to the amount of selenium you have.

Remember we need to eat a varied diet to help us get all the nutrients
we need for good health.

Selenium is important to help our immune system, thyroid metabolism
and reproduction. It is also part of the body's antioxidant defence
system, preventing damage to cells and tissues.

Here are some healthy meals and snacks that will help boost your
selenium intake:

tuna or lean ham and salad sandwich

grilled steak with boiled potatoes, broccoli and peas

roasted cod with oven-baked chips and salad

grilled salmon with pasta and sun-dried tomatoes

roast chicken, roast potatoes, carrots and sweetcorn

meat lasagne with mixed salad

bag of mixed unsalted nuts

a few Brazil nuts

If you eat a varied diet including these kinds of food, you shouldn't
need to take supplements. But if you decide to take selenium
supplements it's important not to take too much, because this could be
bad for your health. Taking 0.35 mg selenium or less each day is
unlikely to do you any harm. back to top

Can you get calcium from carrot juice?
--------------------------------------

Yes, carrots do contain some calcium, but there are much better
sources of this mineral. A glass of carrot juice (150ml) would
typically contain about 24 milligrams of calcium (when no water or
other juices are added).

A glass of carrot juice counts as one portion of fruit and veg. We
should all be aiming to have at least five portions of a variety of
fruit and veg a day, to benefit our health. But remember, fruit or
vegetable juice counts as just one portion a day, however much you
drink.

The richest vegetable sources of calcium are curly kale, okra,
horseradish and watercress. You can also get significant amounts from
red kidney beans, soya beans, petit pois, broccoli, cabbage, celery
and parsnips.

Other good sources of calcium include milk and dairy products, canned
sardines and salmon (when the bones are eaten), sultanas bread and
tofu. You can buy calcium-enriched soya drinks, and some breakfast
cereals contain added calcium too.

Calcium is essential for building healthy bones and teeth. It is
needed for muscles (including the heart muscle) to contract and relax
properly, and for nerves to work well. It is also vital for normal
clotting of the blood. back to top

Does what I eat affect the health of my bones?
----------------------------------------------

Diet is very important for keeping our bones healthy, and so is doing
enough physical activity. Weight-bearing exercise is particularly
important for keeping our bones strong, for example, walking, climbing
stairs, running and playing football.

Bones are complicated living organs that are constantly changing and
repairing. Most people know that bones need calcium. Milk and milk
products are the best source of calcium. Soya beans, tofu and fish
where you eat the bones (such as sardines, whitebait and pilchards)
are other good sources. But we also need vitamin D for the calcium to
be absorbed into the bones to make them strong.

We get most of our vitamin D from the action of sunlight on our skin.
So it's important to spend some time outdoors (taking care not to get
sunburnt). We get the rest of our vitamin D from food. It's found in
oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, and in eggs, some
breakfast cereals and margarines.

Some research suggests that having more than an average of 1.5mg per
day of vitamin A over many years may affect our bones and make them
more likely to fracture when we're older. If you eat liver (which is a
very rich source of vitamin A) or liver products such as pâtè every
week, you are likely to be having, on average, 1.5mg of vitamin A per
day.

If you aren't getting enough vitamin D, you might be more at risk of
the harmful effects of too much vitamin A. People who may be
particularly short of vitamin D include women of Asian origin, if you
always cover up all your skin when you're outside and older people who
rarely get outdoors, or people who eat no meat or oily fish. So if
you're short of vitamin D it might be a good idea to boost the amount
you're getting. You might want to think about taking a 10 microgram
supplement of vitamin D each day.

There are also many other nutrients that are thought to be important
for healthy bones. Lots of these are found in fruit and vegetables.

So, to keep your bones healthy, the best advice is to get active
outdoors and eat a balanced diet, including at least five portions of
a variety of fruit and vegetables every day, a moderate amount of milk
and dairy products, and at least two portions of fish (one of which
should be oily fish) every week. back to top

Do I need to eat dairy products to get enough calcium? Aren't they
high in fat?
------------------------------------------------------------------

It's a good idea to have some milk or other dairy products every day,
because they are the richest sources of calcium. They also contain
other valuable vitamins and minerals, as well as protein. Some dairy
products can be high in fat, but there are plenty of lower fat options
you can choose, or you could have just a small amount of the high-fat
varieties. To cut down on fat, try using:

skimmed, 1% fat or semi-skimmed milk

low-fat spread instead of butter

cottage cheese, low-fat cream cheese and reduced-fat versions of
 hard cheeses such as Cheddar, Cheshire and Edam

low-fat yoghurt or fromage frais

yoghurt instead of cream in cooking, or less of a stronger-tasting
 cheese

Calcium is especially important for growing children and young people,
to help build healthy bones and teeth. Two glasses (300ml) of milk
will provide enough calcium for children aged one to three.

Remember children need full-fat milk until they're at least two. After
this age, you can gradually start giving them semi-skimmed milk, as
long as they're eating a varied and balanced diet and growing well.
But fully skimmed milk and 1% fat mlik aren't suitable for children
under five.

Adults also need plenty of calcium. If you have one glass (200ml) of
semi-skimmed milk, a small pot (150g) of low-fat fruit yoghurt and 40g
hard cheese, that would provide roughly the amount of calcium an adult
needs in one day.

Canned sardines, and other fish where we eat the bones, are good
sources of calcium. If you eat canned sardines in tomato sauce, two
slices of toast, an orange and a small pot of fruit fromage frais,
that would also give an adult enough calcium for the day.

Other sources of calcium include fortified breakfast cereal, soya
beans, tofu, soya drinks with added calcium, dried figs, okra, curly
kale, rice pudding and baked beans.

To find out how much fat and saturated fat is in a food, look at the
nutrition information on the label. back to top

Is folic acid good for men as well as women?
--------------------------------------------

Folic acid (or folate, which is the natural form of folic acid) is an
important vitamin for both men and women. It's essential for many body
processes including the production of healthy red blood cells.

People often link folic acid with women because women trying to get
pregnant are advised to take a 400 microgram (mcg) folic acid
supplement each day (as well as eating plenty of foods containing
folate) from the time they stop using contraception until at least the
12th week of pregnancy. This is because folic acid has been shown to
reduce the chance of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in the
unborn baby.

Although men don't need to take folic acid supplements, it's still a
good idea to make sure you get plenty of folate as part of a balanced
diet. Some research suggests that folate may have beneficial effects
for both men and women, such as reducing the chances of cardiovascular
disease. However, more scientific evidence is needed to support this
claim.

Folate is found in small amounts in many foods, including yeast
extract, dairy products, green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and
Brussels sprouts, peas, chickpeas and some fruit such as oranges and
bananas. Fortified breakfast cereals and some bread contain added
folic acid.

Although some vegetables are a good source of folate, it's destroyed
easily during cooking and tends to be lost in the cooking water. So,
it's a good idea to avoid overcooking your veg. You could try steaming
vegetables rather than boiling them, because this will save more of
the nutrients. back to top

Can you get too much calcium from food?
---------------------------------------

It's virtually impossible to have too much calcium in your diet. This
is because the body controls the amount of calcium it stores very
carefully.

Calcium is vital for many functions in our bodies. It's used in our
nerves, kidneys, blood, and in the contraction of our muscles, as well
as to build strong bones.

Hormones work to move calcium in and out of our blood at controlled
rates to reach the different parts of the body that need it. If we
have more calcium than we need, the body generally gets rid of it
through our kidneys, in urine. But it can also be lost when we sweat.
back to top

I currently take vitamin supplements each day. Are they doing me any
good, or am I just wasting my money?
--------------------------------------------------------------------

A healthy balanced diet ' which includes plenty of fruit and
vegetables, is rich in starchy foods (especially wholegrain) and
contains moderate amounts of dairy products, and moderate amounts of
protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs and lentils ' will provide
all the nutrients that most people need. Vitamin and mineral
supplements are no substitute for good eating habits.

Fruit and vegetables are rich in a range of nutrients, including fibre
and antioxidants such as vitamins C, E and A (in the form of
carotenes). Many of these nutrients are also available in the form of
dietary supplements. However, current thinking suggests that it's
unlikely that these nutrients work in isolation. Rather, it's a
mixture of different components that seem to be the most effective.
So, taking supplements won't necessarily have the same benefits as
eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

With the wide variety of supplements on the market, it's possible for
people to exceed their daily requirements quite substantially. For
some vitamins and minerals this isn't a problem because the body can
easily get rid of the excess. However, it can be harmful to take too
much of the vitamins and minerals that the body stores, such as
vitamin A or iron. To find out how much is too much, check the
vitamins and minerals section.

However, supplements are recommended for some people. For example,
women who have heavy periods can benefit from iron supplements and
women who are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant, are advised to
take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid a day as well as eating foods
that are rich in folate – the natural form of folic acid – such as
breads and breakfast cereals with added vitamins, dark green leafy
vegetables, oranges and yeast extract. This is important because folic
acid has been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects in
unborn babies, such as spina bifida.

Pregnant women are also advised to avoid supplements containing
vitamin A, including fish liver oil supplements, because having too
much vitamin A could harm their unborn baby.

Older people should also consider taking 10 mcg of vitamin D each day.
Other people who might be particularly short of vitamin D and should
think about taking 10mcg of vitamin D each day, include people of
Asian origin, people who always cover up their skin when they're
outside and people who rarely get outdoors. back to top

My GP says I need to eat more foods with iron in them. What foods
should I eat?
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Iron is essential for healthy blood, and an iron deficiency can
eventually lead to a type of anaemia that makes it more difficult for
blood to carry oxygen around the body.

The amount of iron we get from our diet is important, but so too is
the source of the iron because this affects how well the body can
absorb it.

Red meat, meat products and offal are particularly good sources of
iron. Iron is also found in poultry and fish.

The iron found in meat, offal, poultry and fish is better absorbed by
the body compared with iron from other sources such as cereals (many
breakfast cereals are fortified with iron), pulses (such as baked
beans), vegetables (such as dark green leafy vegetables), and fruit
(for example dried fruit such as apricots).

To help increase the absorption of the iron in your diet you could try
the following:

Avoid adding lots of bran to foods. This is because bran is a
 particularly rich source of phytates and phytates can decrease
 iron absorption in the body.

Avoid drinking tea or coffee with your main meal. This is because
 of the tannins found in tea and coffee. This is particularly
 important for young children and teenage girls.

Have foods rich in vitamin C at the same time as cereals, pulses,
 and vegetables because this might help your body absorb the iron
 from these foods. So you could, for example, drink a glass of
 orange juice with an iron-rich meal such as breakfast cereal.

back to top

I'm lactose intolerant. What foods contain calcium, apart from milk
and dairy products?
-------------------------------------------------------------------

There are a number of foods you can eat, apart from milk and dairy
products, to help you get enough calcium. Canned sardines, and other
fish where we eat the bones, are good sources of calcium.

Other foods that contain calcium include:

soya beans and tofu

bread

pulses such as chickpeas

green vegetables, especially watercress and okra (but not spinach)

other vegetables, such as cabbage and onions

dried fruit, especially dried figs

nuts, such as almonds, and seeds, such as sesame seeds

To help our bodies absorb the calcium from the foods we eat, it's
important to get enough vitamin D. We get vitamin D from sunlight on
our skin and from foods such as margarines and spreads, breakfast
cereals and oily fish.

If you use soya, rice or oat drinks as a substitute for milk, try to
choose those with added calcium.

People with lactose intolerance often find that they can eat cheese
and yoghurt without any problems. Cheese contains much less lactose
than milk. Yoghurt contains a similar amount of lactose to milk, but
it still seems to be easier to digest for people with lactose
intolerance. This might be something to do with the bacteria used to
make it. Yoghurt and cheese are both excellent sources of calcium. Try
to choose lower-fat types, or eat just a small amount of the high-fat
options.

However, if you have a milk allergy, rather than lactose intolerance,
you should avoid all milk products, including those made with milk
from sheep and goats. back to top

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