Often you hear nutritionists and dieticians proclaim that multivitamins are not necessary if you eat your daily suggested serves of vegetables as you will get all the nutrients you need from real food.
Well guess what?
96% of Australians DO NOT eat the recommended 5-6 serves of vegetables per day.
( he just made that statistic up you may scoff )
No – no I didn’t.
It comes straight from the Australian Bureau of Statistics – Australian Health Survey: Consumption of Food Groups from the Australian Dietary Guidelines in 2011-12
I directly quote
HOW MANY SERVES OF VEGETABLES AND LEGUMES/BEANS WERE CONSUMED?
In 2011-12, Australians usually consume an average 2.7 serves of vegetables and legumes/beans from non-discretionary sources. The average number of serves of vegetables and legumes/beans consumed generally increased with age, with adults (aged 19 years and over) having almost twice that of children (2-18 years) 3.0 serves compared with 1.8 serves.
HOW MANY PEOPLE MET THE RECOMMENDED NUMBER OF VEGETABLES AND LEGUMES/BEANS SERVES?
Less than 4% of the population consumed the minimum recommended number of serves of vegetables and legumes/beans on a usual basis. Among children, it was estimated that less than 1% usually met their recommended number of serves. Although the proportions of adults consuming the recommended number of serves of vegetables was higher than children, they were still a very small minority, the highest rates being for males aged 71 years and over and females aged 51-70 years (8.3% and 7.5% respectively).
So considering 96% of the population ARE NOT consuming the recommended serves of vegetables, it can be argued that a multivitamin WILL BENEFIT a whopping 96% of Australians until they eat the recommended 5-6 serves of vegetables.
Which one are you?
How much is a serve of vegetables*?1
A standard serve is about 75 g (100-350 kJ) or:
- ½ cup cooked green or orange vegetables (for example, broccoli, spinach, carrots or pumpkin)
- ½ cup cooked dried or canned beans, peas or lentils**
- 1 cup green leafy or raw salad vegetables
- 1 medium tomato
*With canned varieties, choose those with no added salt
**Legumes/beans also contribute to serves within the Lean meats and alternatives group, see Glossary for more information
Australia – you’re parenting poorly!
Check this out – less than 1% of children between 2-3 are getting enough vegetables and only 13% between 4-8 are getting their recommended serves.
…Young children 2-8 years
Less than one percent of the 2-3 year olds met the recommended 2½ serves of vegetables and legumes/beans per day. Around three quarters (74%) consumed less than 1½ serves, including around one-quarter (26%) who usually ate less than 1 serve.
While the 4½ serves recommended for the 4-8 year olds is 2 serves higher than recommended for the 2-3 year olds, the 4-8 year olds only consumed an extra 0.2 of a serve more on average. The median amount consumed by the 4-8 year olds was 1.5 serves with 13% consuming 2 or more serves.
Could this be contributing to why around one in four (27.4%) children aged 5-17 years are overweight or obese?(1)
So if 96% of the country is not getting enough vitamins and minerals maybe, just maybe taking a multivitamin every day is going to at least start to bridge the gap and fill the nutritional gaps in 96% of Australians diets.
“This is why for the at least the last 8 years I have suggested clients take a daily multivitamin”
You’re probably thinking you better go out and buy a multi from your local supermarket right?
Before you do
Not all multivitamins are created equal
Because multivitamins combine so many nutrients into one, quality is often compromised. All minerals are bound with another compound for stability. An easy way for companies to decrease production costs is to use mineral salts for binding. You can identify shitty mineral salts, as carbonate, oxide, and sulfate. These are very poorly absorbed.
Poor absorption can be largely avoided by choosing minerals that are bound with an amino acid because they are treated by the body like proteins and are easily digested. Examples include taurate, glycinate, orotate, arginate, lysinate, and citrate.
Top 10 Health Conditions Affected by Nutrient Deficiency
- All of them
Don’t pigeon hole me before you know me. I am a whole food advocate.
If you train with me I rabbit on and on and on about vegetables and eating them. Ask my clients. Why?
I want you to live longer. That’s a pretty good start.
A comprehensive meta-analysis of 142 articles from 95 population studies shows that the risk of dying prematurely from all causes was reduced by almost a third, and the risk of cardiovascular disease by about a quarter in people who ate 800 grams of fruit and vegetables– or eight a day — compared to those who ate very little or no fruits and vegetables.(2)
But until you have done so for about 3-6 months to rebuild your nutritional profile, I will suggest a multivitamin. Every, damn, day. And no, 1 a day won’t cut it.
If there was secret to why I get such good results with people one of them is, I make you eat ALL of your fruits and vegetables! Yep, 600-800g in total a day.
It is the basis of my 6 week challenge, my online personal training and all of my nutritional suggestions for my semi private personal training.
Master the basics people.
See you in the gym!
Brad
To find out more about training with Brad click the links below
Semi Private Personal Training
references
(1) http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4364.0.55.001
(2) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170223114807.htm