Nutrient goals

Tryingmybestie
Tryingmybestie Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does anyone know how the percentage-based nutrient goals are calculated? For example, vitamin C and iron aren’t based in mg.

It makes no sense and I wish it was just consistently mg for micronutrients.

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,962 Member
    They are based on the US dietary guidelines.
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 921 Member
    I think many food entries in MFP don't even include micronutrients so the values tracked may not be accurate at all anyway. Perhaps if you need to track those for some reason - something like Cronometer might be better?

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,147 Member
    edited August 2023
    This maybe isn't the most direct/compact source, but you'll find the current daily values in grams in the tables at the bottom of the page:

    https://www.fda.gov/food/new-nutrition-facts-label/daily-value-new-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels
    Tryingmybestie wrote: »
    Does anyone know how the percentage-based nutrient goals are calculated? For example, vitamin C and iron aren’t based in mg.

    It makes no sense and I wish it was just consistently mg for micronutrients.

    MFP is using the data in the form it appears on US packaging labels, which is set in the US regulations. The MFP food database is crowd sourced, and has grown over time (under circumstances where labeling regulations have varied). Letting people enter the values as they appear on the labels, and storing them the same way, is a practical approach under the circumstances.

    You'll find that many of the database entries have incomplete micronutrient data anyway, because some of the values are legally optional, and because some MFP users just don't care and enter them wrong or not at all.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    I encourage you to NOT focus on the micronutrients unless you have an actual medical reason to do so. As I learned from when I was anemic and tracking iron, users creating entries often don't bother with accuracy for micros so you have to verify everything, which is a waste of time unless there is an actual need. For example, I supplement with Vitamin C so getting information about that from MFP is not necessary.

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