what are the recommended amounts of nutrients

ltssharon

Under food I get my totals in fats, protein, sugar, carbs, etc. But what are the recommended amounts of each of the nutrients shown in our food tab? I need to know. My blood tests showed I was low in sodium and a bit prediabetic.

MKEgal

http://www.iom.edu/Global/News Announcements/~/media/C5CD2DD7840544979A549EC47E56A02B.ashx

page 1, carbs, 45 - 65% of calories (4 cal per gram)
page 2, fat, 20 - 35% of calories (9 cal per gram)
page 4, protein, 10 - 35% of calories (4 cal per gram)

Eating higher protein & lower carbs leads to more weight loss.
See this blog post for links to studies:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-08-09-high-protein-diet-685553
Try 45% carbs, 20% fat, 35% protein

So for someone with a calorie goal of 2000 per day, that would be
carbs 900 cal, 225 g
fat 400 cal, 44 g
protein 700 cal, 175 g

AJ_G

Well if you are prediabetic I'm guessing you're here to lose weight like almost everybody, so you're going to want to be in a calorie deficit. As for nutrients, it's best to set your protein goal at 1g per lb of Lean Body Mass. Set dietary fat at 0.4g per lb of Body Weight. Most people fill the rest of their calories with carbs, but you may not want to do that since you're prediabetic. I'd suggest keeping carbs low, below 100g a day would be my thinking, and make sure you try not to eat carbs by themselves, always consume them with a source of protein and or fat since both of those macronutrients slow the digestive process. As for sodium, it shouldn't be hard to consume a good amount of sodium every day. It surprising to see someone having low sodium since most foods are pretty salty, but 2500 to 3000mg is probably a good range to strive for daily. As far as sugar, since you're prediabetic, keep it relatively low, but more importantly do not consume sugary things by themselves as I mentioned.

Note: I am not a doctor or a registered dietitian, just a stranger from the internet.

ltssharon

Thank you so mjcn AJ_G. I am with it. I also wonder about the separate category, "sugar" which is on the myfitnesspal food summary each day.

funchords

ltssharon wrote: »

Thank you so mjcn AJ_G. I am with it. I also wonder about the separate category, "sugar" which is on the myfitnesspal food summary each day.

Sugars are a subcategory under carbs. Not all carbs are sugars or predominantly sugars.

This is useful information for diabetics.

Blood sugar will spike for a food that is high in carbs.
Blood sugar will spike more quickly for a food that has a high sugar/carb ratio. An example of such a food would be candy, orange juice, etc..