These 5 nutrients might be lacking in your diet

Across the United States, people’s diets tend to lack five key nutrients.

Most people should be getting more vitamin D, vitamin E, fiber, calcium and magnesium, according to an analysis published June 9 in Nutrients. Eating enough of these nutrients is important because they may play a role in preventing disease.

“We know that what we eat affects the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer,” says Carlene Starck, a nutrition scientist and biochemist at the nutrition research and communications company FOODiQ Global.

The human body requires an assortment of nutrients to survive and thrive. These include carbohydrates, fats and proteins, water and vitamins and minerals. American diets often go big on high-energy foods but skimp on other essential nutrients, Starck says.

Tapping into info from a massive U.S-based national health and nutrition survey, her team analyzed data on people’s intake of 24 essential nutrients and identified where they weren’t meeting recommended guidelines. The analysis also factored in the health benefits of each nutrient, based on accumulated scientific evidence.

That left the researchers with a short list of priority nutrients that Americans should be consuming more of. The nutrients span different food groups, which means there’s no one food that will give people everything they need, Starck says. “There’s no superfood; there’s no magic bullet.”

And packing all these nutrients into supplements isn’t likely to do the job, either, says Sander Kersten, a nutrition scientist at Cornell University. Several clinical trials with supplemental vitamins D and E, for example, haven’t shown clear-cut benefits.

Instead of laser-focusing on individual nutrient levels, both Kersten and Starck recommend zooming out and thinking more holistically. “We need nutrients, but ultimately we eat foods,” Kersten says. The study’s results can point us to foods that tweak our diets for the better, he says.

Starck thinks in terms of meals that pull together a few key nutrients at a time, like avocado and salmon on whole grain toast. Avocado is rich in vitamin E and fiber. Salmon is a good source of vitamin D. Whole grains contribute additional fiber, and all three ingredients add magnesium to the diet. Still, even a diet full of nutritious meals like this are just one piece ­— albeit an important one ­­— in the larger puzzle of people’s health, she says.

Nutrition fits together with many other lifestyle factors, including exercise, smoking and stress. And it’s not just what you eat, but how much, Kersten says. For him, the study’s main message echoes what scientists have long reported: “Our diets are not great,” he says, but “there’s certainly room for improvement.”