The nutrition level of your diet can slip gradually, so bring yours up to speed by visiting a few nutrient-dense food sources often. According to the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, adults need to make sure they get enough calcium, potassium, magnesium, fiber and vitamins A, C and E.
Choosing foods with high mineral and fiber content should provide the vitamins you need for a better diet. When you eat healthy foods, you'll automatically limit the fat, cholesterol, sugar and salt nutrients that the USDA discourages -- as well as excessive calories.
Calcium Foods
Calcium food sources contribute a wide variety of nutrients to a better diet. The National Institutes of Health notes that in the case of milk products, reducing fat content increases the value of other nutrients, including calcium, protein and vitamins A and C.
To drink and eat healthy, you should choose reduced-fat or nonfat milk, yogurt and cheese, and stick to recommended serving sizes on labels. Additional calcium foods include cooked spinach and some fortified orange juices and whole-grain breakfast cereals.
Potassium Foods
Among several contributions to a better diet, dry beans represent potassium superfoods, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). White beans top the list to provide 33 percent of total daily potassium needs in 1 cup, as per the USDA Nutrient Database.
Soybeans, lima and pinto beans, lentils and split peas are also rich potassium food sources. You can eat healthy by pairing these legumes with cooked spinach and other greens. Spinach contains potassium as well as vitamins A, C and E.
Magnesium Foods
Seafood, green veggies, nuts and seeds lead to a better diet through increased magnesium levels. The USDA reports that halibut contains up to 40 percent of daily magnesium values per serving, while blue crab, lobster, scallops, salmon and rockfish contain moderate amounts.
Cooked spinach crops up again as a high-magnesium food. One-oz. servings of Brazilnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds contribute significant mineral amounts and vitamin E.
Fiber Foods
The ADA suggests putting whole grains in your diet as way to eat fiber-rich healthy foods. Brown rice, oatmeal and whole-wheat bread represent dietary fiber food sources that may be enriched in mineral content too.
The FDA considers whole-grain breakfast cereals with more than 5 g of fiber per suggested serving healthy high-fiber cereals, which may also be fortified with minerals. Fruits such as pears and berries deliver lots fiber and vitamins, while legumes, cooked spinach and other greens again make the high-content list for fiber.
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