Many people cannot sleep properly at night. Even after a hard day they turn from one side of the bed to the other all night without sleep coming. In medical terms the problem is called insomnia. A report by News18 says people suffer from it mainly because of a shortage of vitamins and minerals.
The Indian nutritionist Anushree Mishra says a shortage of two vitamins and one mineral in the body keeps sleep away at night: vitamin D, vitamin B12 and magnesium.
What follows is her account of the foods that can make up a shortage of these vitamins and minerals. Anyone with persistent sleep problems should see a doctor rather than treat the matter with diet alone.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is extremely important in keeping the nervous system healthy, she says. It is important to take 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B12 a day. A shortage of vitamin B12 not only causes forgetfulness but also reduces red blood cells in the blood, and insomnia appears alongside. To make up a shortage, she suggests keeping milk, spinach, beetroot, yoghurt, whey and cottage cheese in the daily diet.
Magnesium
Minerals are needed to stay healthy, she says, and magnesium is an extremely important one, helping to run properly the various chemical processes going on inside the body. If magnesium falls, sleep does not come at night.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, often called the sunshine vitamin. Sleep is reduced when vitamin D falls, she says, and many people today have a shortage of it. Many think that spending a certain amount of time in sunlight will prevent a vitamin D shortage. But it is not that simple. Vitamin D is indeed obtained from sunlight, but the process by which it travels from the skin to the liver and spreads from there through the body is very slow. Vitamin D from food enters the body directly.
To make up a shortage, she suggests eating oily fish, which contains vitamin D in large amounts. Vitamin D is found in sea fish, dairy foods and eggs. Hilsa, the belly and oil of rui and katla, tilapia and sarputi, grains and oats, quinoa, dalia, and fortified milk and yoghurt are all rich in vitamin D, in her account.
Mushrooms also contain a great deal of vitamin D, she says: about 450 IU can be obtained from every 100 grams of mushrooms. Those who do not like mushrooms can eat spinach, which also contains vitamin D in her account. Various nuts and seeds contain vitamin D. Pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds can provide it in generous amounts. Almonds and walnuts contain vitamin D. But no more than two walnuts a day, she says, and four or five almonds are enough.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report