Micronutrients & recovery
Global dietary micronutrient supplies have improved over the last 50 years, but sub-Saharan Africa is the only region where micronutrient density has declined due to a shift toward lower-density staples like rice and maize.
To improve your diet, prioritize foods that are dense in vitamins and minerals (vegetables, fruits, lean meats, legumes) rather than just filling up on empty calories like refined grains or sugars. In regions where staple crops are low in nutrients, diversifying the diet or using fortification is critical.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region where dietary micronutrient density has declined over this 50-year period... The MDI declined dramatically from 1979 to 1993 in sub-Saharan Africa, due to the increased availability of lower-micronutrient density grains (rice, maize, and wheat) and vegetable oils and decreased proportional availability of pulses, dairy products, meat, nuts and seeds, and fruit
Why this rating
Large-scale ecological analysis using FAO data over 50 years, though limited by reliance on food balance sheets rather than individual intake data.
Source
Global trends in dietary micronutrient supplies and estimated prevalence of inadequate intakes
Ty Beal et al. · PLoS ONE · 2017
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