Micronutrients under the microscope

Vitamins

Of course, everyone knows that vitamins are found in fruit and vegetables. We show you which foods contain these valuable little helpers. Because an adequate vitamin intake is important for protecting your cells. You should keep in mind that vitamins can be fat-soluble or water-soluble. Unlike water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins can penetrate the so-called lipid layers containing fat (i.e. the fatty cell layers of our organs) and protect the cells there from oxidative stress or free radicals. A vitamin deficiency can therefore also become noticeable in organs such as the heart, brain, or digestive tract.

The group of vitamins:

• Vitamin A
• B vitamins
• Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
• Vitamin B3 (niacin)
• Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)
• Vitamin B6
• Biotin (vitamin B7)
• Folic acid (vitamin B9)
• Vitamin B12 (note: only found in animal-based foods!)
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K

Vitamin-rich foods
The great thing about vitamins is that you can find them in many foods. First and foremost, of course, in fruit and vegetables! But be careful: fruit and starchy vegetables unfortunately often also contain a lot of carbohydrates, which in turn means increased sugar intake. As a vegan, you should also think about vitamin B12, because you can only obtain this important micronutrient from animal-based foods. However, vitamin B12 can also be replaced very well, for example with our product SulfoCLEAN. There you will find the important vitamin B12 in combination with vitamin B6 and folate.

Our vitamin selection:

• Fermented foods such as kimchi or MyREGULATE
• All types of cabbage
• Black salsify and asparagus
• Pumpkin
• Leaf lettuces
• Green vegetables such as zucchini, beans, spinach, cucumbers
• Colorful vegetables
• Mushrooms
• Tomatoes
• Berries
• Selected fruits such as melons, grapefruit, guava, cherries
• Nuts, seeds, kernels

Minerals

If you want to do something good for your muscles, bones, teeth, hair, and nervous system, then you should pay attention to an adequate supply of minerals. Unlike vitamins, these are inorganic substances. Since you need relatively high amounts of these nutrients, they are also called bulk elements (as opposed to trace elements). Incidentally, minerals also play a major role in your electrolyte balance.

The group of minerals:

• Magnesium
• Calcium
• Phosphorus
• Potassium
• Sodium (chloride)

Mineral-containing foods
Like vitamins, minerals are predominantly found in plant-based foods. As part of a ketogenic diet, however, you should also make sure to hold back a little on fruit and opt more for green vegetables. Even though fruit is super delicious, most varieties unfortunately contain a lot of fructose. But don’t worry! You will find plenty of alternatives, and of course no rule is without exception.

Our mineral selection:

• All types of cabbage
• Leaf lettuces and leafy vegetables
• Legumes
• Mushrooms and button mushrooms
• Nuts, seeds, kernels such as Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds

Trace elements

Trace elements—like minerals—are also inorganic substances. However, as the name suggests, you need significantly smaller amounts of these elements. To ensure that your hormones and enzymes do their job well, you should prevent a deficiency. Especially during cold season, you can support your organism, for example, with sufficient zinc.

The group of trace elements:

• Iron
• Iodine
• Zinc
• Selenium
• Copper
• Manganese
• Chromium
• Molybdenum

Foods rich in trace elements
Since your body only needs small amounts of trace elements, you can be completely relaxed even as a low-carb fan.

Our trace element selection:

• Nuts, kernels, and seeds
• Mushrooms and button mushrooms
• Yeast
• Green leafy vegetables
• Dried fruit (please only small amounts here because of the sugar content)

Additional sources of micronutrients

Secondary plant compounds

• These are not only natural pigments, but also anti-inflammatory and have an antibacterial effect. It is clear that these substances are found primarily in fruit and vegetables. Incidentally, the more colorful your vegetable dishes are, the more diverse the nutrients they contain. You see… it’s not only the eyes that eat too.
• Plant compound group: flavonoids, carotenoids, phenolic acids / polyphenols, phytoestrogens, glucosinolates, sulfides, monoterpenes, saponins, phytosterols, chlorophyll

Essential fatty acids

• These fatty acids are also called polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the word essential already gives it away: they are essential for your body, especially omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids. While your hormone balance benefits from omega-3 and it has an anti-inflammatory effect, omega-6 fatty acids can even promote inflammation when consumed in high amounts.
• Since omega-6 fatty acids are found in many (unhealthy) foods nowadays, targeted balancing with omega-3 fatty acids makes sense. Above all, fish and seafood, but also flaxseed oil, flaxseeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and walnuts can be on the menu—in addition to targeted supplementation.

Amino acids

• Amino acids are the smallest building blocks of proteins, and because of their immense importance they are often referred to as the building blocks of life. Basically, amino acids form the absolute foundation in your body, as they are crucially involved in the development and regeneration of your cells. Without amino acids, nothing works!
• They are divided into essential and non-essential amino acids. Your body can produce the latter itself, but not the essential ones, so targeted intake is absolutely necessary. The best way to achieve this is with a protein-rich diet. However, it must be said at this point that this is not that easy. Because here, too, the quality of the food matters, and our modern diet is usually far from sufficient to meet requirements… and vegans in particular often have a problem here, because plant proteins unfortunately have a lower net nitrogen utilization than animal proteins. Targeted supplementation can therefore be not only a solution, but an essential and sensible nutritional enhancement.
• Amino acid group:
  • Essential amino acids: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine (found complete in MyAMINO®)
  • Non-essential amino acids: alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, asparagine, cysteine, glutamine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, proline, serine, tyrosine