Long-term consumption of refined rice and flour, or a long-term vegetarian diet, can easily lead to a deficiency in B vitamins. Therefore, it is recommended to combine whole grains with refined grains in your staple foods, and mix vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. If you have a vegetarian habit, you should supplement with a certain amount of B-com vitamins daily.
Whether you are deficient in nutrients is a question that many people are very concerned about but find difficult to judge. In fact, the body sends out various signals of nutritional deficiency, consciously or unconsciously:
Signal: Dry, thin, brittle hair, hair loss
Possible nutrient deficiencies: Protein, energy, fatty acids, trace element zinc.
Nutritional strategy: Ensure daily intake of staple foods. Ensure 3 liang (150g) of lean meat, 1 egg, and 250ml of milk daily to supplement high-quality protein, while also increasing the intake of essential fatty acids. Consume sea fish 2-3 times a week and eat more oysters to increase the trace element zinc.
Signal: Reduced night vision
Possible nutrient deficiency: Vitamin A
Nutritional strategy: Increase the intake of foods like carrots and pork liver. These provide vitamin A in plant and animal forms respectively, with the latter being more efficiently absorbed. It should be noted that vitamin A is a fat-soluble, not water-soluble, vitamin. Therefore, stir-frying carrots with vegetable oil can greatly improve the absorption of vitamin A compared to eating them raw. Vitamin A in food comes from two sources: one is retinol directly from animal foods, such as animal liver, egg yolk, cream, and other animal organs; the other is from carotene-rich yellow-green vegetables and fruits, such as carrots, rapeseed, peppers, tomatoes, and oranges.
Signal: Glossitis, fissured tongue, tongue edema
Possible nutrient deficiency: B vitamins
Nutritional strategy: Long-term consumption of refined rice and flour, or a long-term vegetarian diet, can easily lead to a deficiency in B vitamins. Therefore, it is recommended to combine whole grains with refined grains in your staple foods, and mix vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. If you have a vegetarian habit, you should supplement with a certain amount of B-com vitamins daily.
Signal: Dry, cracked corners of the mouth
Possible nutrient deficiency: Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) and Niacin (Vitamin B3)
Nutritional strategy: The content of riboflavin (Vitamin B2) varies greatly in different foods. Animal liver, egg yolk, and dairy products are relatively rich sources. Therefore, it is recommended to supplement with 2-3 liang (100-150g) of pork liver once a week, 250ml of milk and one egg daily. It should be noted that processing cereal foods can cause a significant loss of Vitamin B1; for example, the retention rate of Vitamin B1 in refined white rice is only 11%, and in wheat standard flour it is only 35%. Therefore, attention should be paid to a mix of whole and refined grains. Niacin is mainly found in animal foods, especially pork liver and chicken liver.
Signal: Bleeding gums
Possible nutrient deficiency: Vitamin C
Nutritional strategy: Vitamin C is the most easily deficient vitamin because its survival requirements are quite demanding. Light, temperature, storage, and cooking methods can all cause the destruction or loss of Vitamin C. Therefore, a large amount of fresh vegetables and fruits should be consumed daily, preferably about 500g of vegetables and 2-3 fruits. Among these, a combination of stir-frying and cold-dressing is a good cooking method for vegetables.
Sources of Vitamin C: Mainly from fresh vegetables and fruits, such as peppers, spinach, tomatoes, oranges, tangerines, sour jujubes, etc.; Animal foods contain only small amounts of Vitamin C, mainly in the liver and kidneys.
Signal: Diminished sense of taste
Possible nutrient deficiency: Zinc
Nutritional strategy: Moderately increasing the intake of shellfish, such as oysters and scallops, is an effective way to supplement the trace element zinc. Additionally, ensuring 1 egg, 3 liang (150g) of red meat and 1 liang (50g) of legumes daily is also essential for supplementing the trace element zinc.