The 5 key nutrients even healthy women skimp on: you make sure to get enough calcium, iron, and folic acid, but you may be falling short on these often overlooked dietary essentials. Protect your health by adding them to your diet today

1 WHAT YOU NEED

omega-3 fatty acids

These healthy fats have been touted for their ability to control inflammation, prevent depression, and protect against breast cancer and heart disease, yet many of us aren't getting the types or amounts we truly need.

There are three kinds of omega-3s: DHA, EPA, and ALA. DHA and EPA are long-chain omega-3s found in fish. ALA, a short-chain omega-3, is found in nonanimal sources like flaxseed, walnuts, and some vegetable oils. Both varieties offer benefits, but the evidence in favor of DHA and EPA is much stronger. "The body can convert some ALA to long-chain omega-3s, but not much," says William Harris, Ph.D., director of the Nutrition and Metabolic Disease Research Center at the University of South Dakota. Only 25 percent of us get any DHA or EPA in our diets on any given day.

How to get caught up Aim for at least 3,500 milligrams of omega-3s per week (500 milligrams a day) to lower heart disease risk. Eating just 6 ounces of fatty fish, such as salmon (3,800 milligrams) or sardines (3,000 milligrams), will get you to your goal. (Canned tuna and sole have 400 to 500 milligrams in 3 ounces.) If you're not a fish fan, take a fish oil supplement: DHA and EPA from capsules can be just as effective. PharmaOmega Cardio has 800 milligrams per pill, without the fishy flavor; vegans can try the algae-derived Deva Omega-3 DHA, with 200 milligrams per pill.

2 WHAT YOU NEED

vitamin D

For years vitamin D was regarded simply as calcium's helper because it increases absorption of the mineral from food and controls its storage level in bones, strengthening them. But the latest studies show vitamin D can also reduce chronic pain, ease PMS, guard against heart disease, and even ward off cancer. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, found that women with the highest levels of vitamin D in their blood were half as likely to get breast cancer as those with the lowest levels. Plus, women who got the most D from supplements had a 13 percent lower chance of getting type 2 diabetes than those who didn't pop a pill, found a study at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston.

The trouble is, most women aren't getting enough vitamin D to maintain bone health, let alone reach disease-protective levels. At one time, our skin synthesized nearly all we needed when exposed to sunlight. Now, however, most of us spend the majority of our time indoors and slather on sunscreen when we do go outside, which means our bodies make far less of the vitamin today than they did in the past. Furthermore, researchers say current intake guidelines are too low. "The dietary reference intake of 200 IU [international units] was set to prevent rickets, a bone-softening disease in children," says Robert Heaney, M.D., a professor of medicine at Creighton University. In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, he and a team of researchers concluded that our intake goal should be 1,000 to 2,000 IU daily, a dose that's been proven safe and instrumental in improving bone health and fighting disease.

How to get caught up Ideally we'd just load up on more vitamin D-rich foods--like salmon and mackerel, as well as fortified milk and cereal--but it would be nearly impossible to hit the levels that protect against disease through diet alone, says Heaney, who suggests getting at least 1,000 IU a day through a combination of food and supplements.

When shopping for supplements, check labels for those that contain vitamin [D.sub.3] (cholecalciferol), an active form that's been shown to be up to 10 times more effective than its cousin [D.sub.2] (ergocalciferol, the form in some supplements). Most multivitamins have only 400 IU, but you can find brands that contain more. Two options available at drugstores: One A Day Women's, with 800 IU of vitamin [D.sub.3] and Nature Made Multi for Her, with 1,000 IU.

3 WHAT YOU NEED

vitamin E

Less than 5 percent of women meet the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of 15 milligrams (or 22.5 IU) of vitamin E; most of them get about half that. One reason may be that we're overzealous in trimming fat from our diets. "Vitamin E is plentiful in higher-fat foods, like vegetable oils, nuts, and avocados," says Maret Traber, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at Oregon State University.

"Your body needs the antioxidant benefit of vitamin E," she adds. "Meeting the RDA helps it correct the damage caused by free radicals, which are created from UV light and pollution." Free radicals can disrupt cell membranes and even DNA, producing abnormal cells that set the stage for heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, and other chronic disorders. Vitamin E is stored in cell membranes, where its job is to break that chain reaction. "One study found that, compared with getting just 5 milligrams a day, getting the RDA reduced the risk of dying from any cause by 18 percent," says Traber. Women who got the highest levels through their diets rather than supplements had a 60 percent lower risk of death from stroke, found a study from the University of Minnesota. And research from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago shows that for every 5 extra milligrams consumed, the risk of Alzheimer's falls by 26 percent.