Balanced eating?

Jmacdow

Hello Board

I joined cronometer so that I can track healthy eating (read: nutritious). Although I thought i did well today (plenty of fruits and veggies, some fish), it appears that several nutrients seem to be lacking from my diet while others - like fat - are high (I'll ignore the fat thing for now because I do like my olive oil and nuts). Which foods do you all focus on? How do you ensure enough folate and potassium? I can see that even if I think Im eating healthy, I probably am creating certain deficiencies over time. Any experiences?

Karen_Cronometer

Hi Jmacdow,

Welcome to Cronometer

I would recommend taking a look at this article to learn how to get the most nutrition information using Cronometer: https://cronometer.com/blog/6-tips-getting-nutrition-data/

By using foods that have more comprehensive nutrition information, you can be more confident that your intake is accurately accounted for in your nutrient targets. If you are already doing this - great job!

I focus on whole foods - fruits, veggies, eggs, nuts, seeds, yogurt, etc. and keep rotating which items I pick up each week to get a variety of different foods. For example, Broccoli, peppers and mushrooms for one shopping trip, then spinach, sweet potatoes, cauliflower next trip. Even if I am short on a nutrient one day, my average intake over time still looks good.

Best,

Susan_RD_101

@Jmacdow

Great job on your day of healthy eating!

The first thing I would recommend is to pay attention to your nutrient intake over time (i.e. over several weeks and months), rather than worrying about individual fluctuations day-to-day. Our bodies do a pretty good job at making up for nutrient shortcomings and true deficiencies can take a long time to develop. (You can view your nutrient intake over time in "Trends" and "Nutrition Report").

Some nutrients are unlikely to be met (such as potassium- the level estimated for adults is likely higher than what we actually need) while others may show up red (such as trans fat - occurs because we should be getting 0 g and trace amounts are naturally found in food).

I agree with @Karen_Cronometer - stick to whole foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean protein, and whole grains and you will likely meet all of your nutrients while lowering your risk of disease.

Kind regards,

Svzeeee1

I'm currently experimenting with the DASH protocol so I'm focused on a veg/fruit heavy way of eating (10+ servings a day), along with several servings daily of low fat dairy, whole grains, plant based protein like beans, and then small amounts of animal protein (3-4oz of fish/shrimp etc). I pay attention to fiber intake (aim for 30g or more a day) and then magnesium, potassium and calcium.

Susan_RD_101

@Svzeeee1

The DASH eating pattern has a lot of legitimacy behind it and has been rated as one of the best diets to follow; you're making a great choice!

Kind regards,