Trouble Reaching RDV of Iron

LilyBlight

I just checked my intake of iron and I've not made it past 75% of my RDV of iron in the last 90 days. I'm not sure why; my diet is fairly varied with meat, eggs, yogurt, beans, nuts, fruit, veggies, etc. I'm not sure if I'm missing something or if that's due to being on a 1000-1200 cal diet but I'm having no trouble getting plenty of vitamin C and A. My calcium intake isn't much better than my iron intake.

I'd rather address this in my diet rather than with supplementation. Any suggestions would be appreciated

__TMac__

Eating fewer than 1200 cals a day does make it difficult to reach adequate nutrition levels.

In addition, many MFP entries don't include full nutrition data, so your numbers may or may not be correct. Just something to be aware of.

singingflutelady

Don't take iron pills without being diagnosed as having iron deficiency by a blood test and a doctor telling you to take them.

annacole94

I wouldn't really stress about it unless you have a known iron or hemoglobin deficiency, or donate blood. I do supplement (just with a prenatal vitamin I take all the time), as I donate blood. It's challenging both to meet iron through diet on such low calories (and by the way, why 1000 calories? That's really not recommended.) and that MFP doesn't accurately track macros or nutrients in many entries.

TeaBea

I have to agree, unless you are 4'8" or something 1,000 is too low for you.

Many entries don't include all the information. You may take in more iron than you think. Iron pills are generally prescribed. Over the counter doses are like 360%! Not safe for most people.

Cold cereals have lots of iron. I sprinkle cereal on my Greek yogurt every morning. High calcium isn't the best for iron absorption though. Dark leafy greens are another good source. Vitamin C helps with iron absorption.