A Tale of Two Sandwiches
How good is your diet? When you eat food with empty calories, you really do miss out on a lot of nutrition. Even what many people consider to be a good lunch often falls short of meeting your nutritional needs. Compare the nutrient content of the two meals below.
Lunch #1–Ham on white bread with a lettuce salad
| Nutrient | Bread | Ham | Lettuce | Total |
| Calories | 128 | 214.2 | 15 | 357.2 |
| Fat | 1.8 g | 16.1 g | 0 | 17.9 g |
| Protein | 4.0 g | 14.0 g | 1.0 g | 19.0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 23.0 g | 2.14 g | 2.0 g | 27.14 g |
| Vitamin B1 | 0.11 mg | 0.036 mg | 0.05 mg | 0.196 mg |
| Vitamin B2 | 0.14 mg | 0.18 mg | 0.05 mg | 0.37 mg |
| Folic acid | 0 | 0 | 55 mcg | 55 mcg |
| Niacin | 1.8 mg | 3.9 mg | 0 | 5.7 mg |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.2 mg | 0 | 0.05 mg | 0.25 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0 | 0.18 mg | 0.05 mg | 0.23 mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 0 | 0.44 mcg | 0 | 0.44 mcg |
| Sodium | 52mg | 792 mg | 10 mg | 854 mg |
| Potassium | 52 mg | 189 mg | 160 mg | 401 mg |
| Calcium | 60 mg | 92.8 mg | 20 mg | 172.8 mg |
| Magnesium | 10 mg | 14.3 mg | 10 mg | 34.3 mg |
| Zinc | 0.3 mg | 2.3 mg | 0.2 mg | 2.8 mg |
| Phosphorus | 52 mg | 157 mg | 20 mg | 229 mg |
| Iron | 1.36 mg | 1.29 mg | 0.5 mg | 3.15 mg |
| Vitamin A (IU) | 0 | 0 | 330 IU | 330 IU |
| Vitamin E (IU) | 0 | 0 | 0.35 IU | 0.35 IU |
| Essential fatty acids | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vitamin C | 0 | 0 | 5 mg | 5 mg |
| Manganese | 0 | 0 | 0.15 mg | 0.15 mg |
Lunch #2–Turkey on whole wheat with a spinach salad
| Nutrient | Bread | Turkey | Spinach | Total |
| Calories | 140 | 157 | 24 | 311 |
| Fat | 2 g | 3.2 g | 0 | 5.2 mg |
| Protein | 9 mg | 29.9 mg | 3.2 mg | 42.1 mg |
| Carbohydrate | 33 mg | 0 | 4 mg | 37 mg |
| Vitamin B1 | 0.35 mg | 0.6 mg | 0.1 mg | 1.05 mg |
| Vitamin B2 | 0.17 mg | 0.13 mg | 0.2 mg | 0.5 mg |
| Folic acid | 80 mcg | 6 mcg | 220 mcg | 306 mcg |
| Niacin | 3.8 mg | 6.8 mg | 1.0 mg | 11.6 mg |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.2 mg | 0.68 mg | 0.1 mg | 0.98 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.88 mg | 0.54 mg | 0.24 mg | 1.66 mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.45 mcg | 0.37 mcg | 0 | 0.82 mcg |
| Sodium | 100 mg | 63 mg | 108 mg | 271 mg |
| Potassium | 200 mg | 285 mg | 624 mg | 1109 mg |
| Calcium | 160 mg | 21 mg | 112 mg | 293 mg |
| Magnesium | 35 mg | 26 mg | 88 mg | 139 mg |
| Zinc | 3.8 mg | 2 mg | 0.6 mg | 6.4 mg |
| Phosphorus | 160 mg | 208 mg | 56 mg | 424 mg |
| Iron | 0 | 1.4 mg | 3.1 mg | 4.5 mg |
| Vitamin A (IU) | 0 | 0 | 7200 IU | 7200 IU |
| Vitamin E (IU) | 1 IU | 0 | 2.7 IU | 3.7 IU |
| Essential fatty acids | 600mg | 0 | 600 mg | 600 mg |
| Vitamin C | 0 | 32 mg | 32 mg | 32 mg |
| Manganese | 0.6 mg | 0.02 mg | 1.0 mg | 1.62 mg |
Consider the nutritional differences between these two meals. Meal #2 has more than six times as much vitamin C as meal #1. It has 50% more riboflavin; seven times as much vitamin B6; five times as much B1; over 21 times as much vitamin A; 50% more calcium; about four times as much magnesium; twice as much niacin; almost 10 times as much vitamin E; two and a half times as much zinc; four times as much pantothenic acid; six times as much folic acid; twice as much vitamin B12 and over 10 times as much manganese. And meal #2 contains essential fatty acids, which aren’t even present in the first meal.