Trace Elements in Food - how much you have to eat in order to get your RDA
[UPDATED JULY 2023]
Introduction - trace element deficiencies
Trace element deficiencies are common, partly as a result of Western style agriculture, food processing and food choices. See Nutritional supplements - why we all need them
See also Life Extension article - "Vegetables without Vitamins
Correcting these deficiencies
Nutritional Supplements
They can be corrected by taking the appropriate supplements - see Nutritional Supplements - what everybody should be taking all the time even if nothing is wrong
See also the Groundhog Packages which include various nutritional supplements:
- Groundhog BASIC – what we should all be doing all the time
- Groundhog ACUTE - put in place at the first sign of any infection
- Groundhog CHRONIC – the starting point to treat any chronic infection AND to live to our full potential
Eating the right foods?
And these trace elements also subsist in certain foods. The term RDA stands for the Recommended Daily Amount.
This amounts needed to eat will differ widely from one person to another - for example, illness increases requirements. The figure after each food is how much of that food one would have to eat if the daily requirement came solely from that food.
And one must always be aware of the non negotiable status of the Paleo-ketogenic diet - see The Paleo Ketogenic Diet - this is a diet which we all should follow
But one cannot eat one's way to the full RDA of vitamins and minerals
This list illustrates the point that it is virtually impossible to eat the RDAs of vitamins and minerals living a Western lifestyle. One would have to eat large amounts of food and take large amounts of exercise to keep a balance. This of course is what primitive man would have done! As we age and become biochemically less efficient, these amounts all increase.
One also needs efficient digestion to absorb these micronutrients. See Fermentation in the gut and CFS for how to achieve this.
- Magnesium - RDA = 350mgs
- kelp 2oz
- almonds 5oz
- cashews 5oz
- brazil nuts 6oz
- brown rice 14oz
- soybeans 16oz
- green leafy vegetables 25oz
- Calcium - RDA = 800mgs. Calcium is all about vitamin D. There is plenty of calcium in food, it is the absorption that is the problem. This is dependent on vitamin D and the only real source of that is sunshine. I have come to the conclusion that everyone should be supplementing with between 5000iu and 10000iu of Vitamin D3 daily - see the Groundhog regimes as linked below
- kelp 3oz
- almonds 8oz
- corn tortillas 16oz
- brazil nuts 16oz
- tofu 14oz
- dried figs 14oz
- sunflower seeds 14oz
- Potassium - RDA = 2,000-6,000mg (figures for 4,000mg)
- kelp one teaspoonful
- rice bran 8oz
- nuts 10oz
- parsnip 20oz, potato 20oz
- banana 30oz (that's a lot of bananas and represents a high glycaemic load, so banana is not a good way to get potassium!)
- leafy green vegetables 30oz
- Iron absorption is the name of the game! Iron absorption is blocked by tea and this is the main cause of iron deficiency in UK. Another major cause of iron deficiency is hypochlorhydria - see Heartburn - at last I have sussed out why this is such a common problem The richest sources are in liver and meats.
- Zinc - RDA = 15mgs. Zinc is often low in vegetarians or people on low protein diets.
- oysters half an ounce
- steak/chops 9oz
- pecans 11oz
- brazils 12oz
- egg yolk 12oz
- oats
- Copper - RDA = 2mgs
- Rich in nuts, split peas, liver, meat, butter. Deficiency uncommon except junk food diets.
- Manganese - RDA = 5mgs
- pecans 5oz
- brazils 8oz
- oatmeal 24oz
- rhubarb 30oz
- Iodine - RDA = 75mcgms
I have issued updated recommendations on iodine - please see
- Iodine - another vital multitasking tool that should be a household word
- Iodine - what is the correct daily dose?
- Chromium - RDA = 200mcgms
- meat/liver 16oz
- potato 30oz
- Chromium is poorly absorbed - it is best absorbed from yeast, black pepper, liver, cheese and wholemeal bread.
- Selenium - RDA = 200mcgms. Levels in food very dependent on soil selenium.
- herring 5oz
- brazil nuts 8oz
- any seafoods 10oz
- milk 16oz
- brown rice 16oz
- meats 30oz.
- Molybdenum - RDA = 500mcgms
- lentils 9oz
- liver 10oz
- split peas 10oz
- green leafy vegetables 12oz
- brown rice 20oz
- oats 24oz.
Goodies and baddies
- Use Sunshine Salt to get all your minerals in their correct physiological doses.
- Vitamin C improves absorption and tea/coffee blocks absortion. See Vitamin C - learn to use this vital tool well – the key is getting the dose right
- Trace element content depends very much on soil levels and so organic foods will have lower water content and better trace element content than chemical foods.
- Sugar, alcohol, caffeine are "anti-nutrients". They require trace elements for their metabolism in the body and increase requirements.
- Wheat bran is rich in many trace elements but contains phytic acid which blocks their absorption and should NOT be eaten on a PK diet anyway.
- White flour is markedly deficient in trace elements compared to wholemeal and should NOT be eaten on a PK diet anyway.
Deficiencies
Low levels of trace elements have the following disease associations:
- magnesium/potassium with heart disease
- selenium with cancer and heart disease
- iodine with hypothyroidism
- iron with anaemia
- chromium with diabetes
- manganese with epilepsy
- zinc with immunity problems, infertility, behaviour problems, etc.
My family and lodgers are hopeless at taking supplements and so I put them into the cooking via Sunshine Salt.
Related Articles
- Nutritional supplements - why we all need them
- Nutritional Supplements - what everybody should be taking all the time even if nothing is wrong
- Groundhog BASIC – what we should all be doing all the time
- Groundhog ACUTE - put in place at the first sign of any infection
- Groundhog CHRONIC – the starting point to treat any chronic infection AND to live to our full potential
- The Paleo Ketogenic Diet - this is a diet which we all should follow
- Fermentation in the gut and CFS
- Heartburn - at last I have sussed out why this is such a common problem
- Iodine - another vital multitasking tool that should be a household word
- Iodine - what is the correct daily dose?
- Vitamin C - learn to use this vital tool well – the key is getting the dose right
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