Walking through the grocery store recently, I overheard a conversation between two people going through their shopping list. “All we are missing is some protein,” said one patron to the other. As I watched them walk toward the meat section, it dawned on me that terms once used only by nutritionists and scientists have become a part of mainstream American lingo.
It’s interesting how we categorize food at the macro level when there’s so much more being offered from a nutritional standpoint. Vitamins and minerals referred to as micronutrients have the same dietary significance, but are rarely the focal point of the average American diet. It’s very rare, if not unheard of, to find “iron” or “folic acid” on someone’s grocery list outside of the context of dietary supplements. Vitamins and minerals are critical components of the human diet and pack enough punch to prevent disease, help ensure a healthy pregnancy and improve overall health.