Nutrition Guide

Why these nutrients matter for your family

Plain-English explanations of the 10 micronutrients we track — what they do, why your kids need them, and how to get more without spending more.

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Iron
Iron carries oxygen in your blood and keeps your whole family from feeling exhausted.
Why it matters for adults
  • Prevents iron-deficiency anemia — the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide
  • Keeps energy levels up; low iron is one of the top reasons for constant fatigue
  • Supports immune function so your body can fight infections
Especially important for kids
  • Critical for brain development — iron deficiency in early childhood can affect attention and learning long-term
  • Kids under 10 are in a rapid growth phase that demands more iron
  • Low iron means less oxygen reaches the brain, making school harder
Signs your family might be low
  • Always tired, even after a full night's sleep
  • Pale skin or pale inner eyelids
  • Kids seem distracted, irritable, or struggle to focus
  • Frequent headaches or dizziness
Budget-friendly food sources
Lentils Canned beans Ground beef Spinach Fortified cereal
Browse recipes high in Iron
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Zinc
Zinc is your family's immune shield — it fights off colds and helps cuts heal faster.
Why it matters for adults
  • Powers your immune system — low zinc means more colds and longer recovery
  • Helps wounds and skin heal properly
  • Supports your senses of taste and smell
Especially important for kids
  • Essential for normal growth and physical development
  • Protects kids from respiratory and GI infections — especially at daycare and school
  • Helps kids recover from illness faster and more completely
Signs your family might be low
  • Getting sick frequently or taking unusually long to recover
  • Small cuts or scrapes that seem slow to heal
  • Kids with picky eating habits (zinc deficiency blunts taste)
  • Poor appetite or growth that seems stalled
Budget-friendly food sources
Canned chickpeas Ground beef Pumpkin seeds Eggs Fortified cereal
Browse recipes high in Zinc
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Calcium
Calcium builds strong bones and teeth — and keeps your heart and muscles working right.
Why it matters for adults
  • Keeps bones dense and strong — low calcium over time leads to osteoporosis
  • Essential for muscle contractions, including your heartbeat
  • Helps nerves send signals throughout your body
Especially important for kids
  • Up to age 10 is the prime window for building bone density that lasts a lifetime
  • Needed for strong teeth and healthy dental development
  • Supports normal muscle growth during rapid physical development
Signs your family might be low
  • Muscle cramps or aches, especially in legs
  • Dental problems, cavities, or brittle teeth
  • Brittle nails
  • Kids who seem prone to bone fractures from minor falls
Budget-friendly food sources
Milk Canned sardines Tofu (calcium-set) Kale Fortified OJ
Browse recipes high in Calcium
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Vitamin A
Vitamin A protects your family's eyesight, skin, and first line of immune defense.
Why it matters for adults
  • Maintains night vision and protects eye health as you age
  • Keeps skin, lungs, and gut tissue healthy — your body's physical barrier against germs
  • Supports immune response, especially against respiratory infections
Especially important for kids
  • Critical for normal vision development in the first decade of life
  • Helps protect against respiratory infections like ear infections and pneumonia
  • Supports healthy skin and reduces severity of childhood illnesses
Signs your family might be low
  • Trouble seeing in dim light or at night
  • Dry, flaky skin or dry eyes
  • Kids with frequent ear or respiratory infections
  • Slow recovery from colds and infections
Budget-friendly food sources
Sweet potatoes Carrots Canned pumpkin Eggs Fortified milk
Browse recipes high in Vitamin A
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Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 helps your brain make the chemicals that control mood, sleep, and behavior.
Why it matters for adults
  • Helps produce serotonin and dopamine — the brain chemicals behind good mood
  • Supports protein metabolism so your body uses food efficiently
  • Boosts immune function and reduces inflammation
Especially important for kids
  • Vital for healthy brain and nervous system development
  • Affects behavior, mood, and sleep quality — all the things that make parenting easier
  • Helps the body process the protein kids need for growth
Signs your family might be low
  • Irritability, anxiety, or depression that seems out of nowhere
  • Trouble sleeping or restless nights
  • Kids with skin rashes around the mouth or eyes
  • Getting sick more often than usual
Budget-friendly food sources
Chicken thighs Bananas Potatoes Canned tuna Chickpeas
Browse recipes high in Vitamin B6
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Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 keeps your nerves firing and your red blood cells healthy — it's your body's energy source.
Why it matters for adults
  • Essential for making red blood cells — low B12 causes a type of anemia with extreme fatigue
  • Keeps nerve tissue healthy; deficiency causes permanent nerve damage over time
  • Supports DNA synthesis and healthy cell division throughout the body
Especially important for kids
  • Needed for brain and nervous system development during the early years
  • Deficiency in young children can cause developmental delays
  • Vegetarian and vegan kids are at risk — plant foods contain almost no B12
Signs your family might be low
  • Extreme, persistent fatigue that sleep doesn't fix
  • Tingling or numbness in hands or feet
  • Memory problems or brain fog
  • In kids: developmental delays, poor coordination, or behavioral changes
Budget-friendly food sources
Eggs Canned fish (tuna, salmon) Ground beef Fortified plant milk Chicken
Browse recipes high in Vitamin B12
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Vitamin C
Vitamin C supercharges your immune system and helps your body absorb iron from plant foods.
Why it matters for adults
  • Powerful antioxidant that protects cells from damage
  • Boosts production of white blood cells — your immune army
  • Needed to make collagen for skin, joints, and wound healing
Especially important for kids
  • Helps absorb iron from beans, lentils, and greens — critical if your family eats mostly plants
  • Shortens the duration and severity of colds
  • Supports growing bones, teeth, and cartilage
Signs your family might be low
  • Catching colds more often, or colds lasting longer than a week
  • Cuts and scrapes that seem slow to heal
  • Gums that bleed when brushing
  • Feeling unusually tired and rundown
Budget-friendly food sources
Frozen broccoli Bell peppers Kale Canned tomatoes Potatoes
Browse recipes high in Vitamin C
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Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium to build strong bones — and affects your mood too.
Why it matters for adults
  • Without enough Vitamin D, your body can't properly use the calcium you eat
  • Supports immune function — low Vitamin D is linked to more frequent illness
  • Affects mood and energy; deficiency is strongly linked to depression
Especially important for kids
  • Essential for bone and teeth development — severe deficiency causes rickets
  • Kids who spend a lot of time indoors are at higher risk
  • Supports healthy immune response during childhood
Signs your family might be low
  • Bone pain or general achiness, especially in the back
  • Persistent fatigue or low mood, especially in winter
  • Kids with muscle weakness or delayed walking milestones
  • Getting sick often, especially respiratory infections
Budget-friendly food sources
Canned salmon Eggs (with yolk) Fortified milk Fortified cereal Mushrooms
Browse recipes high in Vitamin D
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Folate
Folate helps your body make and repair DNA — it's vital during pregnancy and rapid growth.
Why it matters for adults
  • Needed for every cell in your body to divide and copy DNA correctly
  • Critical during pregnancy to prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spine
  • Supports heart health by keeping homocysteine levels in check
Especially important for kids
  • Kids grow fast — their cells divide constantly, and folate is the fuel for that process
  • Needed for healthy brain development and nervous system function
  • Prevents megaloblastic anemia, which causes weakness and fatigue in children
Signs your family might be low
  • Fatigue and weakness that's hard to explain
  • Mouth sores or a sore, inflamed tongue
  • Kids who seem to be growing more slowly than expected
  • Irritability or poor concentration
Budget-friendly food sources
Lentils Canned black beans Spinach Asparagus Fortified pasta
Browse recipes high in Folate
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Magnesium
Magnesium powers over 300 body functions — including sleep, stress response, and muscle recovery.
Why it matters for adults
  • Helps regulate sleep quality — many adults with insomnia are magnesium deficient
  • Reduces stress and anxiety by calming the nervous system
  • Supports healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and energy production
Especially important for kids
  • Works with calcium to build strong bones during the critical growth years
  • Supports muscle development and prevents growing pains
  • Helps kids sleep better and feel less anxious — a big deal for school-age children
Signs your family might be low
  • Muscle cramps or twitches, especially at night
  • Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
  • Kids who seem more anxious or irritable than usual
  • Frequent headaches
Budget-friendly food sources
Pumpkin seeds Canned beans Peanut butter Brown rice Spinach
Browse recipes high in Magnesium
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Not medical advice. This information is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you're concerned about nutrient deficiencies in yourself or your children, please speak with your doctor or a registered dietitian.