Vitamins

Drivergran4
Drivergran4 Posts: 7 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Along with protein/fibre/carbs etc I seem to be getting enough of everything except iron ….. I thought I was getting enough of it as eat a varied diet but some days don’t even consume the minimum …….may be the answer to why I’m tired most of the time. Not my age (74) busy life ,plenty of sleep though . 🤷‍♂️
Don’t particularly want to take iron tablets as we all know what they do ! 😵‍💫

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    Don't take a supplement unless/until you have a blood test that shows a deficiency. Ask your doctor authorize a blood test. Supplementing can distort the blood test results, among other issues.

    Also, don't assume you're low on iron just because your MFP totals are low. Many entries in the MFP database don't show iron content, even in foods that contain iron. Partly that's because the MFP database is crowd sourced, i.e., entered by regular MFP users like you and me (but maybe less meticulous than you or me about entering everything that's on the food label). On top of that, not all labels now or historically will include iron, depending on what country's labeling laws apply.

    If I'm concerned about an individual nutrient, I will do one of two things to check

    1. Take a couple of typical days and look up the foods in a more complete data source, such as this one:

    https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/

    2. Do a web search for "foods high in iron" (or whatever nutrient is of interest). If my routine eating includes those foods routinely, but the MFP entries don't show that nutrient, I'm less inclined to worry.

    If you're tired all the time, a couple of questions:

    * Have you discussed this with your doctor? There are other deficiencies or issues that are somewhat common in our demographic (I'm 68). Examples would be sub-ideal vitamin D, B-12 or B-6. Hypothyroidism is also more common as we age. There are blood tests for those, too.
    * If you're trying to lose weight, and the tiredness came on while doing that, is there any chance you've cut calories really deeply to pursue fast loss, or are over-exercising for current fitness level? Either of those can cause fatigue, too.

    Best wishes for finding a solution!

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