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More of These, Please

Four nutrients – potassium, magnesium, calcium and fiber – could use a little more love. Most of us don't get enough of them in our diets yet doing so delivers a significant payoff on the health front ...

Contributed by Sue Moores, M.S., R.D., Kowalski's Nutritionist.

Four nutrients – potassium, magnesium, calcium and fiber – could use a little more love. Most of us don't get enough of them in our diets, yet doing so delivers a significant payoff on the health front. Here's the what, why and how:

Avocado Avocado

 

Potassium

Potassium provides the "ying" to sodium's "yang," working alongside sodium to maintain blood pressure and fluid balance while refereeing the balance of acids and bases in your body. It's needed for bone and muscle strength. It helps your nervous system transmit messages that keep your heart beating, your feet moving, your brain remembering things, your stomach feeling full…the list goes on and on.

Figs Figs

 

Magnesium

Magnesium is an essential ingredient for more than 300 chemical reactions in your body. It's needed for nerve and muscle function and for the immune system do its best work. Magnesium helps build bones and keep calcium in the bones, making them stronger and denser. It's in on regulating blood sugar levels and can, for some people, ease migraine headaches.

Yogurt with Banana Slices Yogurt with Banana Slices

 

Calcium

Ninety-nine percent of the calcium in your body lives in your bones, including your teeth. Besides providing bone's structure and strength, it also helps nerves send their messages throughout your body. It helps muscles contract (including your heart), and it helps blood vessels constrict and relax. Calcium also helps produce insulin and enzymes needed for digestion and the breakdown of energy and fat. If you're short on getting enough calcium in your diet, your bones step up by contributing some of their own stores to assist with other body functions, which in turn weakens the bones.

Acorn Squash Acorn Squash

 

Fiber

Most of us are only halfway there when it comes to getting enough fiber in our diets. Besides moving things through your intestinal tract, it keeps the "garden" or microbiome of bacteria in your gut happy, healthy and robust. Gut health is a linchpin to overall health, affecting just about every system in your body. Fiber is food and fuel for creating good bacteria. Without enough fiber (from foods), the balance of bacteria "down under" tips toward trouble.

A Simple Grocery List for All

There are so many foods that contain an appreciable amount of at least three (and sometimes all four) of these needed nutrients. What a stroke of luck! Load your grocery cart with:

  • Nuts
  • Seeds, such as pepitas, flax seeds or sunflower seeds
  • Beans, such as black, pinto or garbanzo
  • Yogurt (non-sugary varieties made from cow's milk)
  • Avocados
  • Winter squash
  • Dark green leafy vegetables, such as collards, Swiss chard, spinach and kale
  • Dried plums (aka prunes)
  • Whole grains, especially wheat berries, oats, quinoa and sorghum