Vitamins and minerals are collectively known as micronutrients. Every vitamin and mineral is essential for your body to function optimally and deficiencies in any one of them can lead to health complications. Consuming enough of each micronutrient is always easy to do, especially if you don’t have a preference for fruits and veggies. However, if you want to maximize your health and avoid disease, you should focus on getting adequate vitamins and minerals in your diet. If you’re struggling to know where to start when it comes to increasing your micronutrient intake, follow these top tips below.

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

The most effective and natural way to increase your micronutrient intake is to eat more fruits and vegetables.

By varying your intake of fruits and vegetables each day, you can consume a wide range of micronutrients. They are packed full of vitamins and minerals, and most of them are abundant in several micronutrients.

For example, bananas are known for being high in potassium but they also contain lots of vitamin B6 and vitamin C. Broccoli isn’t just high in vitamin C. It’s also packed full of vitamin K, iron, calcium, and potassium.

An easy way to ensure that you get enough of every vitamin and mineral is to focus on ‘eating the rainbow’. Consume fruits and vegetables of all different colors so that you aren’t missing any essential nutrients.

If you don’t enjoy eating plain fruits and vegetables, there are still plenty of ways to incorporate more fresh produce into your diet.

Stir vegetables into your evening meal, and create a fresh fruit salad to enjoy with ice cream for dessert. Another great option is to make healthy and delicious smoothies that are full of fruits and vegetables for breakfast.

Take Supplements

Supplements are an easy and cost-effective way to bump up your micronutrient intake alongside a healthy diet.

There are a variety of different vitamin supplements available nowadays. Most people enjoy taking multivitamin tablets or chewable gummies each morning with their breakfast. Others prefer to take their vitamins in liquid form.

If you’ve recently had weight loss surgery, you can also get bariatric vitamin patches where the nutrients are absorbed directly into the skin. This option is ideal when your stomach is still sensitive from your recent surgery. 

Educate Yourself

Educating yourself on nutrition is key to optimizing your nutrient intake. When you know what to eat and how much of these foods to eat, it becomes easier to reach the daily recommended intake for each micronutrient.

It might take a few months for you to learn the ins and outs of basic nutrition but it’s worth spending the time doing so. When you educate yourself, you can make the right choices without needing to search through nutrition labels or ask other people for advice.

Read books, online web pages, and other educational resources to delve into the world of nutrition. You can also watch videos and listen to podcasts about health and nutrition if you’re a visual or auditory learner.