Synergy in a Meal

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Why pairing beats single foods

EVIDENCEGUIDE 1

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Synergy in a meal means one food helps a nutrient from another food get absorbed better. The classic case is vitamin C and plant iron: vitamin C in the same meal turns the iron in plants into a form the gut can take up. The chapter on how vitamin C helps plant iron absorb takes that step apart.

What your body deals with is a whole meal, not a single food. Within one meal, some nutrients help each other and some hold each other back. This story covers three helpful pairs: vitamin C with plant iron, a little fat with carotenoids, and grains with legumes filling each other's amino-acid gaps. The holding-back side is in Antagonism in a Meal.

Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician.

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Synergy in a Meal

Read full story

Stop 1/4

Why pairing beats single foods

EVIDENCEGUIDE 1

READ THE ORIGINAL

Synergy in a meal means one food helps a nutrient from another food get absorbed better. The classic case is vitamin C and plant iron: vitamin C in the same meal turns the iron in plants into a form the gut can take up. The chapter on how vitamin C helps plant iron absorb takes that step apart.

What your body deals with is a whole meal, not a single food. Within one meal, some nutrients help each other and some hold each other back. This story covers three helpful pairs: vitamin C with plant iron, a little fat with carotenoids, and grains with legumes filling each other's amino-acid gaps. The holding-back side is in Antagonism in a Meal.

Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician.