Since changing my diet from vegan to omnivore, I have found myself looking into which foods are optimal sources of various nutrients. As a result, I started making lists to compile all of the data in one place.
Here’s my latest version, which is a work in progress, but I thought I’d share anyway because it’s a nice starting point. I’ve selected nutrients that I feel are important for my family’s optimal health. The items are not listed in any order of importance.
You’ll notice that most of the best sources, for many of these nutrients, are from animals. But, I would never settle for just any animals. As someone who cares for animals, and appreciates them and the nutrition they offer, I will only buy grass-fed and/or pasture-raised animal foods: meat, fish, some dairy, and lots of eggs. To see a list of the various places I source our foods, see this blog post.
One category I didn’t list (on this version) was phytonutrients, which I get plenty of from the bounty of vegetables and fruits we eat. I also didn’t list iron because it’s prevalent in our diet so I wasn’t looking for it as a specific nutrient.
I should add CoQ10 in a future revision since that’s something I actively try to get in my diet (and/or supplement). When I add it, it’ll have beef heart listed under it, as well as sardines. I know those are at least two quality food sources of CoQ10. See my heart stew recipe here and learn how to love sardines here. I should have folate listed as well, but again, it’s pretty routine for us to get that from the Chicken Liver Pate I make and the organic beets we enjoy. Vitamin E should also have eggs listed under it. Yeah, it’s a work in progress.
Another thing I’d like to note is that I’m not sure about the benefits of fermented cod liver oil or salmon oil because I’ve read information that suggests these oils can be rancid and actually harmful as a result. It shouldn’t be a problem since I get omega fatty acids from wild-caught fish, sardines, roe, grass-fed meats, pasture-raised eggs, etc.
My health continues to do well on my omnivore diet of Real Food. I’m always reassessing and tweaking based on variables such as goals, travel, time of month, season, stress, etc. I advise everyone do the same. Look at your health, review your goals, see what’s going on around you, and make decisions. Be flexible.