Ways For You To Better Absorb Vitamins & Minerals

The amount of vitamins & minerals you absorb from the foods you eat can

range from 10% to 90%!  Why is the range so big? Several factors have an impact on the percentage of nutrients you actually get from your food, including: how you prepare the food, any drugs or supplements you may be taking, your age, health status, time of day, & other foods you’re eating at the same time.

To confuse you even more, the amount of vitamins & minerals in any given food can vary greatly, depending on the variety, weather & growing conditions, storage conditions, & natural variation.

For example, although the National Nutrient database reports that a

medium banana contains 422 milligrams of potassium, that figure is an average determined from 14 samples. The actual range of potassium found in those samples was 364mg to 502mg per banana.

Taking these factors into account, you might be thinking it’s difficult to know if you’re getting enough nutrients! Actually, the recommended intakes for vitamins & minerals & the dietary guidelines allow for the fact that we don’t absorb everything from our food.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do all you can to help ensure you do absorb the maximum amount of nutrition. One way, of course, is to choose fresh, unprocessed, natural, organically grown foods whenever possible.

Here are 5 other ways to better absorb vitamins & minerals from your food:

1. Digestive enzymes

Digestive enzymes are active protein (amino acids) compounds that assist you with digestion & metabolism. Common digestive enzymes, including

amylase, lactase, lipase, & protease, are produced in your gastrointestinal tract. Their task is to metabolize your food into digestible nutrients for absorption & use by your body.

Although digestive enzymes are produced in your body, they are also found in unprocessed, raw foods such as bromelain (in pineapple) & papain (papaya). Digestive enzymes sold as supplements, however, are subjected to your gastric enzymes & are probably not going to help enhance vitamin & mineral absorption.

2. Probiotics

Probiotics (beneficial bacteria) produce many different enzymes, & includes types that help you with digestion & absorbtion of your food.

Beneficial bacteria are available in supplement form & in fermented foods, such as kefir, kimchee, sauerkraut, yogurt, & tempeh.

3. Friendly nutrients

If you combine certain foods, you can boost your absorption of specific nutrients. For example, foods that are

high in vitamin C can enhance your ability to absorb iron, especially from plant-based foods. One example would be to drink orange juice with an iron-fortified breakfast cereal or a handful of raisins. B vitamins are better absorbed when they are consumed along with vitamin C & dietary fat.

Coconut oil, which has a large proportion of medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs), helps with the absorption of antioxidants & other nutrients from your food. MCFAs are smaller than the fatty acids found in most other oils, which means they are better able to enter cell membranes.

The B vitamin folic acid, which is the form added to foods, is typically

more bioavailable than the form of the vitamin found in food (folate). To boost absorption of this B vitamin, foods rich in folate (e.g., green leafy veggies) can be consumed along with foods that are fortified with folic acid.

4. Prebiotics

Prebiotics are essentially carbohydrates (insoluble fiber) that your body cannot digest, & they’re super “food” or nutrients for the beneficial bacteria in your gut. These prebiotics stimulate the growth & activity of probiotics & make it easier for you to absorb vitamins & minerals from your food.

Prebiotics have names that don’t roll off your tongue easily; so I’m not going to list them here as they are completely unpronounceable to me. I’ve never heard of any of them…

The good news is that you can probably get all the prebiotics you need by eating lots of fresh veggies rich in soluble fiber, such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, chard, & other leafy greens, as well as garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, & bananas.

5. Aloe Vera

You may know aloe vera as a handy plant to have in your kitchen to use on minor cuts &

burns. This succulent can also help you with vitamin absorption. In a study from the UC Davis Medical Center, researchers evaluated the use of aloe vera inner leaf gel & whole leaf gel in healthy volunteers to see how they affected your absorbtion of vitamin C (500 mg) & vitamin B12 (1 mg). Water was used as a control. Both aloe vera gels increased levels of both vitamins & enhanced your absorbtion & antioxidant potential in your body…

You are what you absorb. If you begin with natural, fresh, organic foods, you’re off to a running start. Then you can enhance the nutritional benefits by boosting the absorption of vitamins, minerals, & other nutrients from those foods.

---

This is great information for you!  I take probiotics & digestive enzymes daily, & I also drink aloe vera juice (inner leaf with no sugar added) every morning. You’ll be amazed at how much better your stomach will feel & how much better you’ll digest your food! I swear by these & wouldn’t stop taking them…