Vitamins & Minerals: 7 Surprising Ways to Increase Your Intake

• Try a "no salt added" vegetable juice. While it does lack the fiber of the real vegetable, it is a nice, easy way to get your vitamins.
  
  
• Did you know that for a food label to say, "An excellent source of," or "Rich in," one serving of it need only contain 20 percent of the Daily Value?
  
  
• When in doubt, choose darker vegetables and fruits. They tend to have more vitamins.
  
  
• Any cooking that minimizes the time, temperature and amount of water needed will help to preserve nutrients in vegetables.
  
  
• Use your microwave or pressure cooker to cook vegetables: both cook quickly and preserve nutrients.
  
  
• Don't get your zinc in a calcium/magnesium supplement. These minerals compete with zinc for absorption, and zinc generally loses out. Better to get your zinc separately or in a multivitamin.
  
  
• If you are a "chocoholic" or crave the taste of chocolate it could mean you need more magnesium in your diet.

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