Staggering Statistic: Are You Getting Enough Micronutrients?

The list of nutrients the body needs to ingest on a daily basis can at times seem unattainable. There’s protein, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains to think about—and without even considering micronutrients.

You probably know micronutrients by their more common alias: vitamins and minerals. The human body desperately needs these nutrients, but can’t produce them all on its own. That’s where food comes in.

Of course, not all diets are created equal, and not every diet can provide a full serving of each vitamin and mineral. In fact, one study conducted by the National Institutes of Health discovered how bad four popular diets are at providing these essential nutrients.

And the numbers might be against us. To get the recommended amount of micronutrients suggested by the USDA, you’d need to eat an average of 27,575 calories a day. At 12 times the amount of calories we’re supposed to consume daily, it’s clear that a diet focused on obtaining micronutrients definitely isn’t a sustainable one.