How to get all the nutrients you need in one day's food (crisps and wine included)

• There are many nutrients that many of us consistently don't get enough of
• Good Health has put together a day's balanced diet 
• Provides total RDA of all 17 major vitamins and minerals for 1,900 calories

Many people take vitamin pills as 'insurance', but recently there's been evidence suggesting that in high doses at least, it could actually increase the risk of disease.

So should you be taking vitamins? There are several nutrients that many of us consistently don't get enough of.

These include iron, which protects against anaemia, and selenium, which may boost our resistance to viruses.

The expert consensus is that the best way to get our nutrients is through our food

According to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, 46 per cent of girls aged 11 to 18 and one in four adult women have low iron intakes, while half of women do not get the minimum recommended amount of selenium.

Vitamin D, which is only found in high quantities in oily fish and is also formed by our skin when it is exposed to the sun, is also low across both sexes and all age groups, with 40 per cent of us having low blood levels during the winter months.

So if you're in an at-risk group, a supplement might be a good idea. However, the expert consensus is that the best way to get our nutrients is through our food.

But how easy is it to get everything you need from your diet? Here, Good Health has put together a day's balanced diet that would provide at least 100 per cent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of all 17 major vitamins and minerals - all for around 1,900 calories.

BREAKFAST

Breakfast is a good chance to get some bone-building calcium

• A medium bowl of porridge with 80g blackberries

Breakfast is a good chance to get some bone-building calcium, with a bowl of porridge made with around 200ml of any type of cows' milk providing a third of your recommended daily amount.

Milk is also an important source of vitamin B2 (vital for skin and eyes) - you get about a third of your RDA here. The porridge made with milk and fruit supplies a fifth of your daily magnesium intake (for healthy muscles) along with B vitamins (including around a third of the daily B12, which is essential for nerves to function well). Oats are also good for fibre and slow-releasing carbohydrates to keep you going until lunch.

Blackberries add around 15 per cent of your daily vitamin C (for healthy skin and the immune system); other berries such as strawberries and raspberries would give you more, but blackberries have the benefit of containing more vitamin E, an antioxidant that protects cells from damage. Blueberries would be lower in both.

MID-MORNING SNACK

A banana also provides a sixth of your daily potassium, which is needed to regulate blood pressure

• 50g roasted cashews and a smallish banana (around 100g)

Cashews are a great way to help you reach your iron intake for the day - you get nearly a quarter of your intake from the handful here. The banana is especially good for magnesium, which is required for healthy nerves and muscles, as well as vitamin B6, which allows the body to use and store energy from protein and carbohydrates - you get more than a third of your requirement of both.

The banana also provides a sixth of your daily potassium, which is needed to regulate blood pressure and the fluid content of the body.

LUNCH

• Chicken salad sandwich (at least 55g of meat) with six cherry tomatoes, 75g carrot batons, 40g bag Kettle Chips and an apple

Both the chicken and the grains in the bread (white or brown) provide the B vitamins thiamin (B1) and niacin (B3), essential in unlocking energy from food. You get over a quarter of your B1 here.

 Crisps cooked in sunflower oil will bump up your vitamin E intake, with about a quarter of your RDA in a small bag

The lunch also provides up to a fifth of your daily zinc (for healthy skin, cell repair and the immune system) and iron - you'd get slightly more if you chose darker leg meat from the chicken. Beef or lamb would have more zinc and iron, but eating lots of red and processed meat (more than 500g a week) is linked with an increased risk of colon cancer.

Tomatoes and carrots are good sources of vitamin A: one average carrot will provide your entire daily requirement.

Crisps cooked in sunflower oil will bump up your vitamin E intake, with about a quarter of your RDA in a small (40g) bag.

Tomatoes also add a bit of vitamin E, plus the plant chemical lycopene that gives tomatoes their red colour. This is an antioxidant, which has been linked with lower risk of stroke.

The apple adds potassium, traces of B vitamins and some more vitamin C.

Both chicken and grains in the bread (white or brown) provide the B vitamins thiamin (B1) and niacin (B3)

AFTERNOON SNACK

• 150g pot low-fat fruit yoghurt

Not only would a small pot of yoghurt top up your calcium intake (adding around a quarter of your RDA) - it bumps up your intake of iodine. This nutrient is important for thyroid function, which regulates your metabolism and you'd get 48 per cent of your RDA here.

The yoghurt also provides B vitamins including B12 - almost a fifth of your RDA. Very low levels of B vitamins can contribute to fatigue.

Ideally choose natural yoghurt and add your own fruit to keep sugar to a minimum. However, shop-bought flavoured yoghurts contain about the same levels of nutrients.

DINNER

Oily fish is a chief source of vitamin D - and the salmon here would provide two to three days' intake

• One 140g (cooked weight) grilled salmon fillet (the size fillet in an average supermarket pack)
• 200g boiled new potatoes
• 3 tbsps each of cooked spinach and peas, large 250ml glass red wine

Oily fish is one of the chief sources of vitamin D - and the salmon here would provide two to three days' intake.

Vitamin D is only found in animal foods, so if you're a vegetarian you need to get it from fortified foods such as breakfast cereals, or by exposing your skin to the sun for 20 minutes or so without sunscreen each day between April and September.

Although potatoes don't count as one of your five a day, they are an excellent source of potassium - you get nearly 40 per cent of your daily intake from this meal.

It's worth noting that individual vitamin and mineral needs vary

All the ingredients in this meal supply modest amounts of magnesium, which together adds up to 40 per cent of the RDA.

The meal also provides 93 per cent of the RDA of folic acid - needed along with vitamin B12 for healthy blood cells, as well as during pregnancy to prevent birth defects - with the lion's share coming from the spinach, followed by potatoes.

The peas and spinach - like all green vegetables - are also good sources of iron and calcium. Spinach has more vitamin A, while the peas also give you energy-unlocking vitamin B1.

The red wine tops up your iron intake, providing a sixth of the RDA. Cheers!

It's worth noting that individual vitamin and mineral needs vary, and pregnant and breastfeeding women tend to have greater requirements, as may those with conditions such as coeliac disease and women with heavy periods (who require more iron).

People over 65 are also more prone to vitamin B12 deficiency, which can cause anaemia, even if they get enough from their diet, as this vitamin is harder to absorb as we age.

If vegetarians swap the chicken sandwich for an egg one and choose a Quorn or tofu-based dish in place of the salmon, they would meet all the RDAs for vitamin and minerals with the exception of vitamin D. 

This would have to be supplied by supplements or daily exposure to the sun in the summer months (for 15 to 20 minutes).

THE GOODNESS IT'LL GIVE YOU

• Nearly three times your recommended daily amount of niacin and vitamin A
• Twice your recommended amount of potassium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, folic acid and vitamin B1
• Up to one-and-a-half times your daily amount of vitamin B6, vitamin E, vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, selenium, iodine, iron, vitamin B2 and zinc
• Plus, nearly seven portions of fruit and veg