European Diet Found To Be Deficient In Certain Vitamins And Minerals

A European study comparing recent data from dietary surveys conducted in eight countries has found that the European diet lacks 17 basic micronutrients. Conducted by the International Life Sciences Institute, the study found that vitamin D was the most severe deficiency, but diets also were low in iron, calcium, zinc, vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B6 and folic acid. The researchers said that except in the case of vitamin D, low levels of vitamins do not pose a public health risk generally, but may in the case of specific age groups.