If you eat meat, fish or nuts, you should be able to get all the selenium you need from your daily diet.
Meat, fish and nuts are the best sources of selenium but we also get some selenium from bread. Although bread doesn't contain as much selenium, if you eat it regularly it will make a significant contribution to the amount of selenium you have.
Remember we need to eat a varied diet to help us get all the nutrients we need for good health.
Selenium is important to help our immune system, thyroid metabolism and reproduction. It is also part of the body's antioxidant defence system, preventing damage to cells and tissues.
Here are some healthy meals and snacks that will help boost your selenium intake:
tuna or lean ham and salad sandwich
grilled steak with boiled potatoes, broccoli and peas
roasted cod with oven-baked chips and salad
grilled salmon with pasta and sun-dried tomatoes
roast chicken, roast potatoes, carrots and sweetcorn
meat lasagne with mixed salad
bag of mixed unsalted nuts
a few Brazil nuts
If you eat a varied diet including these kinds of food, you shouldn't need to take supplements. But if you decide to take selenium supplements it's important not to take too much, because this could be bad for your health. Taking 0.35 mg selenium or less each day is unlikely to do you any harm.
Yes, carrots do contain some calcium, but there are much better sources of this mineral. A glass of carrot juice (150ml) would typically contain about 24 milligrams of calcium (when no water or other juices are added).
A glass of carrot juice counts as one portion of fruit and veg. We should all be aiming to have at least five portions of a variety of fruit and veg a day, to benefit our health. But remember, fruit or vegetable juice counts as just one portion a day, however much you drink.
The richest vegetable sources of calcium are curly kale, okra, horseradish and watercress. You can also get significant amounts from red kidney beans, soya beans, petit pois, broccoli, cabbage, celery and parsnips.
Other good sources of calcium include milk and dairy products, canned sardines and salmon (when the bones are eaten), sultanas bread and tofu. You can buy calcium-enriched soya drinks, and some breakfast cereals contain added calcium too.
Calcium is essential for building healthy bones and teeth. It is needed for muscles (including the heart muscle) to contract and relax properly, and for nerves to work well. It is also vital for normal clotting of the blood.
Diet is very important for keeping our bones healthy, and so is doing enough physical activity. Weight-bearing exercise is particularly important for keeping our bones strong, for example, walking, climbing stairs, running and playing football.
Bones are complicated living organs that are constantly changing and repairing. Most people know that bones need calcium. Milk and milk products are the best source of calcium. Soya beans, tofu and fish where you eat the bones (such as sardines, whitebait and pilchards) are other good sources. But we also need vitamin D for the calcium to be absorbed into the bones to make them strong.
We get most of our vitamin D from the action of sunlight on our skin. So it's important to spend some time outdoors (taking care not to get sunburnt). We get the rest of our vitamin D from food. It's found in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, and in eggs, some breakfast cereals and margarines.
Some research suggests that having more than an average of 1.5mg per day of vitamin A over many years may affect our bones and make them more likely to fracture when we're older. If you eat liver (which is a very rich source of vitamin A) or liver products such as pâtè every week, you are likely to be having, on average, 1.5mg of vitamin A per day.
If you aren't getting enough vitamin D, you might be more at risk of the harmful effects of too much vitamin A. People who may be particularly short of vitamin D include women of Asian origin, if you always cover up all your skin when you're outside and older people who rarely get outdoors, or people who eat no meat or oily fish. So if you're short of vitamin D it might be a good idea to boost the amount you're getting. You might want to think about taking a 10 microgram supplement of vitamin D each day.
There are also many other nutrients that are thought to be important for healthy bones. Lots of these are found in fruit and vegetables.
So, to keep your bones healthy, the best advice is to get active outdoors and eat a balanced diet, including at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day, a moderate amount of milk and dairy products, and at least two portions of fish (one of which should be oily fish) every week.
Do I need to eat dairy products to get enough calcium? Aren't they high in fat?
It's a good idea to have some milk or other dairy products every day, because they are the richest sources of calcium. They also contain other valuable vitamins and minerals, as well as protein. Some dairy products can be high in fat, but there are plenty of lower fat options you can choose, or you could have just a small amount of the high-fat varieties. To cut down on fat, try using:
skimmed, 1% fat or semi-skimmed milk
low-fat spread instead of butter
cottage cheese, low-fat cream cheese and reduced-fat versions of hard cheeses such as Cheddar, Cheshire and Edam
low-fat yoghurt or fromage frais
yoghurt instead of cream in cooking, or less of a stronger-tasting cheese
Calcium is especially important for growing children and young people, to help build healthy bones and teeth. Two glasses (300ml) of milk will provide enough calcium for children aged one to three.
Remember children need full-fat milk until they're at least two. After this age, you can gradually start giving them semi-skimmed milk, as long as they're eating a varied and balanced diet and growing well. But fully skimmed milk and 1% fat mlik aren't suitable for children under five.
Adults also need plenty of calcium. If you have one glass (200ml) of semi-skimmed milk, a small pot (150g) of low-fat fruit yoghurt and 40g hard cheese, that would provide roughly the amount of calcium an adult needs in one day.
Canned sardines, and other fish where we eat the bones, are good sources of calcium. If you eat canned sardines in tomato sauce, two slices of toast, an orange and a small pot of fruit fromage frais, that would also give an adult enough calcium for the day.
Other sources of calcium include fortified breakfast cereal, soya beans, tofu, soya drinks with added calcium, dried figs, okra, curly kale, rice pudding and baked beans.
To find out how much fat and saturated fat is in a food, look at the nutrition information on the label.
Folic acid (or folate, which is the natural form of folic acid) is an important vitamin for both men and women. It's essential for many body processes including the production of healthy red blood cells.
People often link folic acid with women because women trying to get pregnant are advised to take a 400 microgram (mcg) folic acid supplement each day (as well as eating plenty of foods containing folate) from the time they stop using contraception until at least the 12th week of pregnancy. This is because folic acid has been shown to reduce the chance of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in the unborn baby.
Although men don't need to take folic acid supplements, it's still a good idea to make sure you get plenty of folate as part of a balanced diet. Some research suggests that folate may have beneficial effects for both men and women, such as reducing the chances of cardiovascular disease. However, more scientific evidence is needed to support this claim.
Folate is found in small amounts in many foods, including yeast extract, dairy products, green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts, peas, chickpeas and some fruit such as oranges and bananas. Fortified breakfast cereals and some bread contain added folic acid.
Although some vegetables are a good source of folate, it's destroyed easily during cooking and tends to be lost in the cooking water. So, it's a good idea to avoid overcooking your veg. You could try steaming vegetables rather than boiling them, because this will save more of the nutrients.
It's virtually impossible to have too much calcium in your diet. This is because the body controls the amount of calcium it stores very carefully.
Calcium is vital for many functions in our bodies. It's used in our nerves, kidneys, blood, and in the contraction of our muscles, as well as to build strong bones.
Hormones work to move calcium in and out of our blood at controlled rates to reach the different parts of the body that need it. If we have more calcium than we need, the body generally gets rid of it through our kidneys, in urine. But it can also be lost when we sweat.
I currently take vitamin supplements each day. Are they doing me any good, or am I just wasting my money?
A healthy balanced diet ' which includes plenty of fruit and vegetables, is rich in starchy foods (especially wholegrain) and contains moderate amounts of dairy products, and moderate amounts of protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs and lentils ' will provide all the nutrients that most people need. Vitamin and mineral supplements are no substitute for good eating habits.
Fruit and vegetables are rich in a range of nutrients, including fibre and antioxidants such as vitamins C, E and A (in the form of carotenes). Many of these nutrients are also available in the form of dietary supplements. However, current thinking suggests that it's unlikely that these nutrients work in isolation. Rather, it's a mixture of different components that seem to be the most effective. So, taking supplements won't necessarily have the same benefits as eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
With the wide variety of supplements on the market, it's possible for people to exceed their daily requirements quite substantially. For some vitamins and minerals this isn't a problem because the body can easily get rid of the excess. However, it can be harmful to take too much of the vitamins and minerals that the body stores, such as vitamin A or iron. To find out how much is too much, check the vitamins and minerals section.
However, supplements are recommended for some people. For example, women who have heavy periods can benefit from iron supplements and women who are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant, are advised to take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid a day as well as eating foods that are rich in folate – the natural form of folic acid – such as breads and breakfast cereals with added vitamins, dark green leafy vegetables, oranges and yeast extract. This is important because folic acid has been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects in unborn babies, such as spina bifida.
Pregnant women are also advised to avoid supplements containing vitamin A, including fish liver oil supplements, because having too much vitamin A could harm their unborn baby.
Older people should also consider taking 10 mcg of vitamin D each day. Other people who might be particularly short of vitamin D and should think about taking 10mcg of vitamin D each day, include people of Asian origin, people who always cover up their skin when they're outside and people who rarely get outdoors.
My GP says I need to eat more foods with iron in them. What foods should I eat?
Iron is essential for healthy blood, and an iron deficiency can eventually lead to a type of anaemia that makes it more difficult for blood to carry oxygen around the body.
The amount of iron we get from our diet is important, but so too is the source of the iron because this affects how well the body can absorb it.
Red meat, meat products and offal are particularly good sources of iron. Iron is also found in poultry and fish.
The iron found in meat, offal, poultry and fish is better absorbed by the body compared with iron from other sources such as cereals (many breakfast cereals are fortified with iron), pulses (such as baked beans), vegetables (such as dark green leafy vegetables), and fruit (for example dried fruit such as apricots).
To help increase the absorption of the iron in your diet you could try the following:
Avoid adding lots of bran to foods. This is because bran is a particularly rich source of phytates and phytates can decrease iron absorption in the body.
Avoid drinking tea or coffee with your main meal. This is because of the tannins found in tea and coffee. This is particularly important for young children and teenage girls.
Have foods rich in vitamin C at the same time as cereals, pulses, and vegetables because this might help your body absorb the iron from these foods. So you could, for example, drink a glass of orange juice with an iron-rich meal such as breakfast cereal.
I'm lactose intolerant. What foods contain calcium, apart from milk and dairy products?
There are a number of foods you can eat, apart from milk and dairy products, to help you get enough calcium. Canned sardines, and other fish where we eat the bones, are good sources of calcium.
Other foods that contain calcium include:
soya beans and tofu
bread
pulses such as chickpeas
green vegetables, especially watercress and okra (but not spinach)
other vegetables, such as cabbage and onions
dried fruit, especially dried figs
nuts, such as almonds, and seeds, such as sesame seeds
To help our bodies absorb the calcium from the foods we eat, it's important to get enough vitamin D. We get vitamin D from sunlight on our skin and from foods such as margarines and spreads, breakfast cereals and oily fish.
If you use soya, rice or oat drinks as a substitute for milk, try to choose those with added calcium.
People with lactose intolerance often find that they can eat cheese and yoghurt without any problems. Cheese contains much less lactose than milk. Yoghurt contains a similar amount of lactose to milk, but it still seems to be easier to digest for people with lactose intolerance. This might be something to do with the bacteria used to make it. Yoghurt and cheese are both excellent sources of calcium. Try to choose lower-fat types, or eat just a small amount of the high-fat options.
However, if you have a milk allergy, rather than lactose intolerance, you should avoid all milk products, including those made with milk from sheep and goats.
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