Does anyone eat multiple times the Vitamin A/C RDA?

tinylightsbelow
tinylightsbelow Posts: 85 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have only been using MFP for 4 days and I noticed that even at roughly 1200 calories, I am going above and beyond Vitamin A and Vitamin C requirements. For C, I've been getting about 300% the RDA. For A, I've gotten 350%, 550% and today a whopping 790%! It's a good thing that dietary vitamin A does not lead to overdose like supplements for it do.

I have also been doing well at meeting requirements for iron and calcium though not exceeding.

How about you guys? Is this common? Maybe it's because I'm nuts over sauteed spinach (I ate a whole bag of it today!)

Replies

  • SkepticallyFit
    SkepticallyFit Posts: 71
    If you eat a lot of fruits and veggies, then it's very easy to go well above the vitamin C and vitamin A requirements. As you pointed out, plant-based vitamin A is not an issue and excess vitamin C is just peed out.

    Excess iron and calcium can be problem, but that depends on other health factors. Since I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian, I always go over on my vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, and iron. I'm sure I go over on other nutrients as well, but you can't track those. I consider it a much better situation for my diet to be over nutritious than under nutritious.
  • chubaway
    chubaway Posts: 1,645 Member
    I noticed that too, then I discovered why . . . for me at least.

    Most days I have one or two medium hard boiled eggs. They each have like 6% RDA of vitamin A. Well, whoever entered the eggs entered 241% of Vitamin A. So two of them put me close to 500%, with the other foods I was eating I was getting over 600% . . . not really getting that much, but that's what it said. The person that entered the amount of vitamin A enter the IUs, not the percentage.

    So you might want to verify the foods you are entering are accurate. Now I entered the "corrected" eggs, and everything looks normal.
  • Lauracharder
    Lauracharder Posts: 141 Member
    I go over on mine daily also! The RDA is the "recommended allowance". Some people do okay with more, some with less. Abundance, if any, gets peed out.
  • tinylightsbelow
    tinylightsbelow Posts: 85 Member
    Good to know it's not uncommon, and that vitamin C does not lead to overdose!

    Thanks for the suggestion, pstireman. I have noticed a few times that when I enter something it is slightly different from what the label said; I try to look for the exact name brand product so this error is avoided. Still, mistakes can happen. I'll run some numbers. ^^
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    If you get too much real vitamin A from some sources (like liver) you actually CAN overdose.

    You can't really overdose of 'vitamin A' from vegetable sources because it's not really vitamin A, it's just the precursor carotenes that your body must convert (which is does somewhat inefficiently).
  • tinylightsbelow
    tinylightsbelow Posts: 85 Member
    Oh, gotcha. As a vegan I don't eat things like liver, so I should be all set :) it's probably good that I'm getting extra since the conversion rate is inefficient.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    Oh, gotcha. As a vegan I don't eat things like liver, so I should be all set :) it's probably good that I'm getting extra since the conversion rate is inefficient.

    Just make sure you're eating some kind of fat with the carotenes so the conversion will happen.
  • shoshi68
    shoshi68 Posts: 407 Member
    Vitamin A, almost every day, especially if I eat carrots or peppers - always puts me over on Vitamin A. Vitamin C is also really high for me, but I take a megadose.
  • LAW_714
    LAW_714 Posts: 258
    I have only been using MFP for 4 days and I noticed that even at roughly 1200 calories, I am going above and beyond Vitamin A and Vitamin C requirements. For C, I've been getting about 300% the RDA. For A, I've gotten 350%, 550% and today a whopping 790%! It's a good thing that dietary vitamin A does not lead to overdose like supplements for it do.

    I have also been doing well at meeting requirements for iron and calcium though not exceeding.

    How about you guys? Is this common? Maybe it's because I'm nuts over sauteed spinach (I ate a whole bag of it today!)

    Yes. Regularly. Especially on days when I eat a sweet potato.
  • arcticfox04
    arcticfox04 Posts: 1,011 Member
    Its fine. Just drink alot of water which you should doing anyways. I'd suggest you research up on WebMD on vitamins/minerals and make sure you have a good plan if your getting enough or too much in your diet/supplements.

    Water Soluble vitamins just gets passed out of the system.

    Fat Soluble vitamins can be toxic to the body in high doses. This is due to them being stored in fat cells & the liver.
  • tinylightsbelow
    tinylightsbelow Posts: 85 Member
    Didn't know that fat helped with the conversion! Thanks for the tip. I do eat fats but I have not in the past taken care to make sure they're in the same meal as vitamin A-rich foods. I will watch out for that.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    Didn't know that fat helped with the conversion! Thanks for the tip. I do eat fats but I have not in the past taken care to make sure they're in the same meal as vitamin A-rich foods. I will watch out for that.

    No problem. :)

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