Assistance (?) How to check the total Calcium/ Iron/ Vitamin A/ Vitamin C consumed in a day

Oceansinner

I don't get how to use this website- I need to see the amount of Calcium, Iron, and Vitamin A and C I had, but the food diary doesn't show those things. Do I need to retype everything into the database, record the amount of calcium/ iron/ vitamin a/ vitamin c I had per item of food, and then add up the percentages in order to figure out whether or not I consumed too little or much vitamins? Or am I missing something?

Fflpnari

look at it on the app on you phone and youll be able to see it. it doesnt show on the desktop version

Lietchi

I'd like to add that many database entries are incomplete with regards to micronutrients, so what you see might be lower than your actual consumption of micronutrients.

lynn_glenmont

Oceansinner wrote: »

I don't get how to use this website- I need to see the amount of Calcium, Iron, and Vitamin A and C I had, but the food diary doesn't show those things. Do I need to retype everything into the database, record the amount of calcium/ iron/ vitamin a/ vitamin c I had per item of food, and then add up the percentages in order to figure out whether or not I consumed too little or much vitamins? Or am I missing something?

You can change which nutrients show in your diary. On the website go to settings>diary settings. You can choose five (in addition to calories, which are mandatory) on the website. You can see those same five choices in your diary for the Android app if you go into your phone's settings>display and turn on auto-rotate screen, then rotate your phone to get a landscape display in MFP.

kshama2001

Lietchi wrote: »

I'd like to add that many database entries are incomplete with regards to micronutrients, so what you see might be lower than your actual consumption of micronutrients.

Yes, I'm anemic and can attest that lots of user-entered entries have incorrect values for iron - people sometimes use the weight value instead of the % value, or get the % wrong, or just leave it out all together.

@Oceansinner - if you have an urgent medical reason to track these values, do spend extra time verifying entries.

Unfortunately, the green check marks in the MFP database are used for both user-created entries and admin-created entries that MFP pulled from the USDA database. To find admin entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and paste that into MFP.

The USDA changed the platform for their database in 2019 and it is unfortunately a little more difficult to use. I uncheck everything but SR Legacy - that seems to be what MFP used to pull in entries.

Note: any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was user entered.

For packaged foods, I verify the label against what I find in MFP. (Alas, you cannot just scan with your phone and assume what you get is correct.)

belindascott3010

I find it totally confusing. I was looking at iron and men and women require totally different amounts of iron yet what is entered is a percentage. A percentage of what women need or the percentage that men need? And obviously lots of user error even in green ticked products.
Can’t figure if I am working things out correctly but from some internet research it looks like 2 large eggs could be 25% of iron requirement for women 18-50 but none of the green tick show more than 4% is that right?

janejellyroll

belindascott3010 wrote: »

I find it totally confusing. I was looking at iron and men and women require totally different amounts of iron yet what is entered is a percentage. A percentage of what women need or the percentage that men need? And obviously lots of user error even in green ticked products.
Can’t figure if I am working things out correctly but from some internet research it looks like 2 large eggs could be 25% of iron requirement for women 18-50 but none of the green tick show more than 4% is that right?

18 mg is the daily value used to determine what is 100% for iron on US food labels. It is based on the needs for those who have the highest requirement -- pre-menopausal women. If you are a post-menopausal woman or a man, then you need less than that.