Happy Sunday! We’re talking micronutrients and nutrient-dense foods today because most of you are malnourished. Don’t be!
Following Monday’s microbiome letter, I wondered how Of Note readers treat their microbiomes.
Some of you shared your toxic traits: EC divulged that she uses her microbiome as an excuse to engage in questionable practices. Highlights include, “Let the dog I’m bbsitting lick my face? Great for the microbiome” and “Don’t wear flip flops in the bathhouse? Also great for the microbiome.”
Other readers shared what they do to help their microbiome, mostly lifestyle and fermentation:
“i feel like when i make it a point to walk a lot everything is working better....lol. and then honestly multiple nights of bad sleep and its super effed.”
“lots of siggi’s yogurts! and miso and tempeh”
“I have lots of greek yoghurt and jam :)”
I seldom wash my produce, believing it might boost my microbiome and immune system. Admittedly, this is a questionable practice. But in my defense, I mainly buy organic produce directly from farmers. I’m convinced I’m resistant to most food-borne illnesses after surviving a severe case of food poisoning from contaminated water during childhood travels with my parents. I had a fever, hallucinated, and my lymph nodes swelled so much that I begged for relief. My dad tried to comfort me, saying I couldn't die abroad because the U.S. government trusted him with my care (I was a U.S. citizen adopted by Costa Ricans, so he had a point). I only recovered after a lymphatic drainage massage from someone who may or may not have been a curandera (my parents don’t believe in them).
Now that I've stressed you out about your microbiome, let's shift our focus to another small but mighty topic: micronutrients! All the disordered eating gym bros know macros (the nutrients our bodies need in large amounts) like they’re getting quizzed on it: carbohydrates, proteins, fats. Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy as our bodies break down carbs into glucose. Our brains LOVE glucose! Fiber, which aids in digestion, regulates blood sugar, and supports your microbiome is also a carb (this is why low-carb diets can do more harm than good). Proteins are made of amino acids and make up every cell and organ in your body. They have hormonal, metabolic, and immune system functions. Fats help protect your bones/organs, regulate body temperature, and your body stores them to use when under strenuous activity or during periods of starvation. Fats also help with some nutrient absorption. Only focusing on macronutrients is not enough to support nutrition and health.
Remember how we learned that sailors got scurvy when they didn’t have access to fruits and vegetables for months? Micronutrients impact everything from our immune function to our brain health—so what even are they? The World Health Organization defines micronutrients as, “vitamins and minerals needed by the body in very small amounts,” adding that, “their impact on a body’s health are critical, and deficiency in any of them can cause severe and even life-threatening conditions.” These are essential to our health, but our bodies can’t produce them. Scientists are pretty literal, so they called them “micro” because we don’t need much of each. For the most part, a healthy adult should be able to meet their daily micronutrient needs by consuming a balanced diet. Yet, deficiencies persist.
How do micronutrient deficiencies manifest?
Often, like fatigue or inability to focus. Further, micronutrient “inadequacies” have been linked to non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and cancer. Governments care about this because it impacts our ability to learn and work (education! productivity!), but we should care about it because we should care about our health.
What are the causes of micronutrient deficiencies?
Poor diets, health conditions that impact how well our bodies absorb nutrients (think: celiac, Crohn’s) or how nutrients are metabolized and employed in our bodies (e.g., kidney disease, diabetes), physical activity (the more active you are, the more nutrients you need to support energy/muscle repair), age and pregnancy status (e.g., pregnant women need more iron + folic acid….also birth control pills may impact folic acid and other vitamins), vices (smoking/drinking), soil quality (plants nutrient content is tied to nutrients from the soil in which they grow), dietary restrictions (are you vegan? i’ve got news 4 u), eating disorders, socioeconomic factors. If you have IBS or other gastrointestinal issues linked to microbiome issues, your body is unable to properly process and absorb the nutrients if food is moving too fast or too slow through your digestive system. It may be a good idea to ask your doctor to run a micronutrient panel on the top nutrients/minerals if you’re feeling like you’re deficient or insufficient.
How can we meet our daily micronutrient needs?
Supplements, but you’ll likely be paying for very expensive pee
Through eating a balanced diet. Do I sound like a broken record yet?
I prefer option 2. I don’t like cutting things out or telling myself I can’t have something, because that only makes me crave it more. Instead, I aim to incorporate more nutrient-dense foods throughout the day to supplement my otherwise carb- and fat- heavy diet. I often reference this table from the Priority Micronutrient Density in Foods 2022 study by Ty Beal and Flaminia Ortenzi because it looks at food nutrient density scores for women of reproductive age. And I’m a woman of reproductive age. Here’s the table for adults in aggregate. This is a win for organ meat and tinned fish!
I’ll leave you with some policy program implementation considerations to address nutritional deficits:
Reduce food insecurity and promote food sovereignty: Reducing food insecurity and improving food sovereignty is key to improving overall nutrition, and ensuring that people have access to quality food. Potential policy examples include improving food distribution systems, subsidizing healthy foods/community farmers, and tackling socioeconomic determinants of health (am I getting greedy with these recommendations?)
Food fortification: This is when the government asks (legislates) food manufacturers to enrich their food with micronutrients. We know this works! It’s why there’s iodine in our table salt and why iodine deficiencies have declined over time. One of my many excuses for eating out sometimes is that I only buy Maldon salt (famously NOT iodized…though may have trace minerals just from being…well…sea salt!). We’ve also done this with B vitamins in flour/nutritional yeast and Vitamin D in milk.
Public Health Education Campaigns: Marketing and awareness help get the word out to the general population, and not everyone is reading Of Note (they shouldn’t!). Calling all my ad men to raise awareness on micronutrient benefits.
Nutritional Assistance Programs: Education is only part of the equation. Once you’ve raised awareness, we have to have programs in place that can help people action that information. Financial assistance like SNAP in the US can help people access nutrient-dense foods
School-based Nutrition: School meal programs can ensure that children have access to balanced meals rich in micronutrients, and can help set healthy eating habits earlier in life. As an aside, we’re not allocating enough resources to this in the US. Kids and schools are relying on private donors to cover their school lunch debt, which is wild to me that we’re not prioritizing school lunches in our gov budgets. (E.g., Kansas, Wisconsin, Tennessee….Arby’s???? what’re you doing here)
Yet again I’m writing this at 3AM….
goodnight,
xxsem