Let’s begin with my cumulative increased list, first, I have decided to increase my vegetable intake by at least 1.5 cup by adding them to my smoothies or as a salad/ stemmed veggies to every meal, now by including more veggies in my diet, I am essentially helping myself “up” my intake of vitamins as well, since I am especially low in vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin D, vitamin E and folate, by increasing my consumption of veggies from different subgroups like brightly colored veggies ( e.g. sweet potatoes, carrots and red peppers) , dark leafy greens (e.g. kale, collard and spinach) and cruciferous vegetables (e.g. broccoli, brussels sprouts and cauliflower), which are packed with vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2,
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Since I have already addressed my entire vitamin intake issues in my cumulative increase/decrease list. I will quickly summarize how I was able to achieve this. The vitamins that I was significantly below the recommendations were vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin D, vitamin E and folate. Most of these vitamins can be derived from vegetables and whole grains, which I have already decided to, increase my intake of and is part of the cumulative increase list and most importantly a variety of veggies in my diet will ensure I get the entire array vitamins needed. Vitamin D, however I can get some of it from fatty fish and dairy products, which I have already planned on increasing as part of my diet, but like I mentioned above the best source of vitamin D is the sun. For vitamins like vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and vitamin C, I was well above the recommended vitamin intake and since all of these are water soluble vitamins, most of the excess intake will be excreted in urine and not cause any serious toxicity issues, unlike fat soluble vitamins that can lead to serious issues and is important not to exceed intake, especially in the form of supplements, for example cod liver oil supplements is a way to get vitamin D in your diet, but toxicity issues can result if intake is exceeded. Hence, I would prefer to take in more sunlight as there is no risk of overdose from sun exposure and of course, by taking appropriate safety precautions keeping in mind the risk of skin cancer. So overall, my cumulative increase/decrease list addresses all of my vitamin needs from food sources and fits in with my vitamin intake goals, which means I do not need to make any specific changes to this list, at the most I need to get more sunlight to make up for my vitamin D intake. (As a side note, in my past blood report I was told I am vitamin D deficient and needed more sunlight by my doctor as well and I now understand why she didn’t want to prescribe me a
Since I have already addressed my entire vitamin intake issues in my cumulative increase/decrease list. I will quickly summarize how I was able to achieve this. The vitamins that I was significantly below the recommendations were vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin D, vitamin E and folate. Most of these vitamins can be derived from vegetables and whole grains, which I have already decided to, increase my intake of and is part of the cumulative increase list and most importantly a variety of veggies in my diet will ensure I get the entire array vitamins needed. Vitamin D, however I can get some of it from fatty fish and dairy products, which I have already planned on increasing as part of my diet, but like I mentioned above the best source of vitamin D is the sun. For vitamins like vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and vitamin C, I was well above the recommended vitamin intake and since all of these are water soluble vitamins, most of the excess intake will be excreted in urine and not cause any serious toxicity issues, unlike fat soluble vitamins that can lead to serious issues and is important not to exceed intake, especially in the form of supplements, for example cod liver oil supplements is a way to get vitamin D in your diet, but toxicity issues can result if intake is exceeded. Hence, I would prefer to take in more sunlight as there is no risk of overdose from sun exposure and of course, by taking appropriate safety precautions keeping in mind the risk of skin cancer. So overall, my cumulative increase/decrease list addresses all of my vitamin needs from food sources and fits in with my vitamin intake goals, which means I do not need to make any specific changes to this list, at the most I need to get more sunlight to make up for my vitamin D intake. (As a side note, in my past blood report I was told I am vitamin D deficient and needed more sunlight by my doctor as well and I now understand why she didn’t want to prescribe me a