Eating nutrient-dense foods is important, but how you eat them is also important for maximum benefit.
To get the most benefit from foods like beans, whole grains, and tomatoes, it helps to combine them with foods that help absorb nutrients.
“Certain plant-based foods have different absorption rates, and how you handle those foods and what you eat them with can also change absorption rates.” Katherine Pereza vegan nutritionist told CNBC Make It in 2023.
Here are three essential food combinations that can boost your nutrient intake, says Perez.
3 essential food combinations to better absorb nutrients from healthy foods
1. Take iron with vitamin C
Iron, found in nutrient-dense plant-based foods, is better absorbed when eaten with foods high in vitamin C. cleveland clinic likens the relationship between vitamin C and iron to Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street.
Essentially, “nonheme iron found in plant-based foods is difficult for the body to absorb,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. You can also absorb more iron by eating iron-rich plant foods along with foods rich in vitamin C.
For example, Perez suggested eating a burrito with beans, which are rich in iron, and diced bell peppers, which are a rich source of vitamin C.
2. Combine antioxidants with fats and fat-soluble vitamins
It turns out that combining healthy fats and antioxidants increases the nutrients you get from both. Let’s say you’re cooking tomatoes that contain the antioxidant lycopene. Adding olive oil to your pot is an ideal way to increase your nutritional intake from vegetables.
“When you make tomato sauce, using extra virgin olive oil with the tomatoes and boiling them down will activate and absorb lycopene much better than if there was no fat at all,” says Perez in Make It. ‘ said.
Another good example is adding dressings that contain healthy oils, such as soybean oil, to your salads. 2017 survey Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “A spoonful or two of salad dressing may certainly help you get the optimal nutritional benefits from your vegetables.” press release state.
3. Get calcium with vitamin D
“If you consume these calcium-rich foods and have enough vitamin D in your diet, your body will be better able to absorb vitamin D,” Perez says.
“People who don’t get enough calcium and vitamin D throughout their lives are more likely to have thin, brittle bones (osteoporosis) later in life.” kaiser permanente. “Your body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium.”
Consuming calcium-rich foods like canned salmon with bones, egg yolks, milk, and yogurt when you go for a walk outside can be of great benefit. Sources of vitamin D from sunlight can help you get more calcium, Perez points out.
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