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Nutrition's dynamic duos.

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Nutrition's dynamic duos

We spend a lot of time fretting about individual nutrients, but often they work in tandem.

Nutrition guidelines and labels sometimes seem to have been written one nutrient at a time. We're advised to get this amount of that vitamin and that amount of this mineral. Separating out nutrients this way makes the guidelines relatively easy to understand and probably does help us avoid the classic diseases of nutritional deficiency, such as scurvy (not enough vitamin C) or pellagra (not enough niacin).

But good nutrition * and the way in which in our bodies absorb and process nutrients * is a much bigger puzzle than a nutrient-by-nutrient tally sheet suggests. Most nutrients don't fly solo: they interact, join forces, cancel each other, jockey for position on metabolic pathways. One reason food is so often nutritionally preferable to pills or supplements is that food contains a mixture of nutrients, so we benefit from their interactions with each mouthful.

The following is a list of nutrients that work in pairs. It's just a sampler, and far from a complete catalog. Even so, it may help inform some food choices * and give just a taste of the cruel complexity of the nutrition lurking behind guidelines and easy-to-read labels.

Vitamin D and calcium

Like most nutrients, calcium is absorbed primarily in the small intestine. If large quantities are present, much of the bone-strengthening mineral diffuses across the inner lining of the intestine on its own. But in smaller amounts, the mineral gets absorbed with active assistance from vitamin D and several of its metabolic offspring. D also lends a helping hand in the absorption of phosphorus,...

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