NUTRITION
alert
THE NUTRIENTS
WE’RE MISSING
●●Vitamin A – intake of this essential
vitamin has fallen by 21 per cent, with
fewer women of childbearing age meeting
the Lower Reference Nutrient Intake
(LRNI) for vitamin A
●●Vitamin D – down by 22 per cent
●●Fibre – we’re eating less than half
the recommended daily amount
●●Omega-3 fatty acids – oily fish
consumption remains below optimal levels
●●Riboflavin – down by 11 per cent
●●Folate – down by 10 per cent
●●Calcium – down by 10 per cent
●●Iron – down by 5 per cent; 27 per cent
of women are failing to achieve the LRNI
●●Potassium – down by 4 per cent
WHAT’S BEHIND
THE NUTRIENT GAP?
For women, trendy plant-based and
exclusion diets propelled by influencers on
Instagram could be playing a role in the
decline of our nutritional health, says
public health nutritionist Dr Emma
Derbyshire. A 2019 study found that
one-in-six adults is now restricting entire
food groups due to various diets.
‘Women’s intake of vitamin A, iron,
iodine and calcium has fallen, and these
are all nutrients that can be found in meat
and dairy,’ she says. While vitamin A,
needed for healthy vision, skin and
immunity, can be converted from
beta-carotene in orange and yellow fruit
and veg, and dark green leafy vegetables,
eggs and liver are also rich sources. ‘Lean
red meat is a good source of iron, needed
to make red blood cells,’ says Derbyshire.
‘It is also found in other foods, such as
green leafy vegetables, but it’s quite
difficult to get enough if you don’t eat
meat.’ The best sources of iodine,
meanwhile, are sea fish, shellfish and dairy
products – so if you’re plant-based, you’re
probably missing out. Interestingly, if you
eat some dairy but choose organic you
might also be low in this mineral – organic
milk has been shown to contain 35 to 40
per cent less iodine than conventional
milk. ‘Iodine is important for thyroid