Nutrients
Which ingredients carry each nutrient, and how much you need in a day.
MacronutrientProteinProtein builds more than muscle: it is the material for enzymes, hormones and immune antibodies. What matters is not just the total but whether the essential amino acids are all there.Black soybean · Chicken breast · Pumpkin seeds · TurkeyMacronutrientFiberFibre passes undigested to the colon, where it feeds gut bacteria. Soluble and insoluble fibre do different jobs.Psyllium · Chia seeds · Flaxseed · Black soybean · Lentils · ChickpeasVitaminVitamin CVitamin C is required to build collagen and sharply increases absorption of plant-source iron. It is water-soluble and heat-sensitive, so cooking method decides how much you actually get.Guava · Bell pepper · Kale · Brussels sproutsMineralIronWith iron, the form matters more than the amount. Heme iron from meat absorbs at 15–35%; non-heme iron from plants at 2–20%.Psyllium · Chicken liver · Cheonggukjang · Soybeans · Black soybeanMineralPotassiumPotassium works against sodium to regulate blood pressure. The saltier the diet, the more it matters.Adzuki bean · Pistachios · Psyllium · Soybeans · Potato · Brussels sproutsMineralMagnesiumMagnesium is a cofactor in more than 300 enzyme reactions. It is the mineral most easily lost in a diet built on refined grains.Pumpkin seeds · Brazil nut · Flaxseed · Black soybean · SoybeansVitaminFolateFolate is used to build DNA when cells divide. The fetal neural tube closes before most people know they are pregnant, which is why intake matters from the planning stage.Adzuki bean · Chicken liver · Black soybean · LentilsVitaminVitamin B12Vitamin B12 is essentially absent from plant foods. On a fully plant-based diet it is close to the one nutrient that genuinely requires supplementation.Octopus · Chicken liver · Oyster · HerringVitaminVitamin KVitamin K activates the proteins behind blood clotting and the delivery of calcium into bone. On anticoagulants, consistency matters more than quantity.Spinach · Kale · Watercress · Brussels sproutsMineralSeleniumSelenium builds antioxidant enzymes. The gap between what you need and too much is unusually narrow for a mineral.Brazil nut · Flaxseed · Tuna · OysterMineralManganeseManganese is a trace mineral needed in small amounts, but bone formation and antioxidant enzymes cannot do without it. Whole grains and nuts usually cover it.Oats · Pumpkin seeds · Mussels · AmaranthMineralCalciumThe number on the table is not what enters your body. Spinach calcium absorbs at about 5%; milk calcium at about 30%.Cheese · Chia seeds · Sardines · Tofu · KefirMineralZincA single oyster passes the daily requirement. The real problem is usually not deficiency but long-term over-supplementation.Oyster · Pumpkin seeds · Beef · Black soybeanVitaminVitamin AThe vitamin A from vegetables and the vitamin A from animal foods are handled differently by the body. Only one of them has an upper limit.Chicken liver · Eel · Carrot · Sweet potatoVitaminVitamin EAn antioxidant that protects fat from oxidation. An ordinary diet almost never falls short — but high-dose supplements have caused trouble.Sunflower seeds · Almond · Brazil nut · EelMacronutrientOmega-3The omega-3 in perilla oil and the omega-3 in mackerel do different jobs in the body, because the conversion rate between them is low.Flaxseed · Chia seeds · Walnut · MackerelVitaminVitamin DThe hardest nutrient to get from food alone. Deficiency is common — but in large trials, people who were not deficient gained almost nothing from taking more.Eel · Mackerel · TroutMineralIodineIn most of the world iodine is the nutrient people fall short of. Korea, where seaweed is everyday food, sits at the opposite end.Kelp · Sea mustard (wakame) · Egg · MilkMineralPhosphorusDeficiency is effectively unheard of. What differs is absorption: the phosphate added to processed food behaves nothing like the phosphorus in whole food.Pumpkin seeds · Chia seeds · Brazil nut · Sardines · SoybeansVitaminVitamin B3Deficiency has all but vanished in wealthy countries. What collapsed instead was the hope that high-dose niacin protects the heart — in a trial of 25,673 people.Peanuts · Anchovy · Chicken breast · Turkey · TunaPhytonutrientBeta-caroteneEaten as vegetables it becomes vitamin A, and the body stops converting once it has enough. Taken as a high-dose pill, it raised lung cancer in smokers.Sweet potato · Carrot · Spinach · PumpkinMineralCopperCopper is the mineral that makes iron usable. Without enough of it, anaemia develops even on plenty of iron. Heavy zinc supplementation lowering copper is a well-documented interaction.Squid · Sunflower seeds · Brazil nut · OysterVitaminVitamin B6B6 is a cofactor in more than a hundred enzyme reactions. It is also one of the few water-soluble vitamins with an upper limit — high-dose supplements are linked to nerve damage.Pistachios · Garlic · Turkey · Chicken breastVitaminVitamin B1Thiamin stands at the junction where carbohydrate becomes energy. The body stores only two to three weeks' worth, and it is the nutrient most heavily lost when rice is polished.Sunflower seeds · Pistachios · Pork · Soybean sproutVitaminVitamin B2Riboflavin is the vitamin that makes other vitamins usable. B6 and folate need it to reach their active forms. It stands up to heat but not to light.Chicken liver · Quail eggs · Gim (laver) · Soy milk · White mushroomsMacronutrientCholineCholine goes into cell membranes, a neurotransmitter, and the business of exporting fat out of the liver. An adequate intake was set relatively recently, and most people fall short of it.Egg · Quail eggs · Chicken liver · ShrimpMineralSodiumSodium is essential, and almost everyone eats more of it than they need. So the ranking below is not a list to seek out — it is a list for gauging how much is already arriving.Cheese · Clams · Kimchi · Cottage cheese · MusselsPhytonutrientLuteinLutein really does accumulate in the macula of the eye. But the primary analysis of the largest trial — 4,203 people over five years — did not significantly reduce progression of macular degeneration.Kale · Watercress · Pistachios · Pumpkin · Green peasMacronutrientCaloriesA calorie is a unit, not a nutrient. The top of the list below is oils and nuts — which is a list of energy-dense foods, not a list of bad ones.Brazil nut · Walnut · Peanuts · Black soybean · Lamb · SoybeansMacronutrientCarbohydratesThe carbohydrate column holds not just starch and sugar but dietary fibre too. That is why psyllium tops the ranking below — and most of its 88.9 g is never absorbed.Psyllium · Goji berry · Rye · Barley · Chickpeas · Brown riceMacronutrientFatThe top of the ranking below is oils. An oil is 100 g of fat per 100 g, so that is arithmetic — which means this table answers "how much", not "which kind".Brazil nut · Walnut · Sunflower seeds · Lamb · Black soybeanMacronutrientSugarsThe top of the list below is honey, dates and goji berries: foods naturally high in sugar. Health guidance is about added sugar, and the two are not the same number.Goji berry · Prunes · Figs · Mango · Persimmon · Apple