How is the daily goal for iron measured on our food diary?

78Phoenix

My food diary shows my daily goal for iron as "100". 100 what?
*From a nutrition website:
"The recommended dietary allowance for women is 18 milligrams of iron per day, and men need about 8 milligrams per day. Pregnant women need 27 milligrams per day. Once women reach menopause, their iron requirements drop to the same as those of men. The tolerable upper intake level for iron is 45 milligrams per day; if you consume more iron than this from supplements on a regular basis, toxicity symptoms are likely to occur."

My Deva vegan daily multi-vitamin has 18mgs, shown as 100% daily value. When I add it to my food diary, it simply counts it as 100. So! Is it calculating it as a percentage? Why only iron? None of the other value options given seem to be measured in percentage.

I've been slightly to badly enemic all my life, I'm been vegetarian for over a year, and I take this multivitamin specifically to aid in the few special needs for veg diets call for. B vitamins, folic acid, etc.

I definitely feel a difference now that I'm getting all the iron I need, but I'm worried about overdoing it! Can anyone explain how our iron is being measured and if I'm potentially at risk for toxicity from it?

Thanks!!

AwesomeGuy37

100% daily value

You can see it in edit goals. There is a % after it. I'm sure it is 18mg

78Phoenix

Thanks, AwesomeGuy! I appreciate it.

_John_

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/

sdelphy

To summarize, myfitnesspal in the USA did and still does use 100% iron = 18 mg/day. This is based on the USA's daily value (DV) for a 2,000 calorie diet that is in turn used on USA food labels to determine the amount of iron and other nutrients within the product. Other myfitnesspal percent nutrient values within the USA are also based on this (vitamin A at 5,000 IU, vitamin C at 60mg, and calcium at 1,000 mg). In summary, these nutrients are based on what is know as "100%DV".

To change the percentage, go into Goals section of myfitnesspal and adjust the percentage as necessary.

For nutrient DVs based on a 2,000 calorie diet, see https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm064928.htm for more info.

Also see https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/appendix-7/ for guidelines on iron and other nutrients by age and sex.

And finally, for some info on USA food labeling, see https://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm274593.htm#calories

Hamsibian

I definitely feel a difference now that I'm getting all the iron I need, but I'm worried about overdoing it! Can anyone explain how our iron is being measured and if I'm potentially at risk for toxicity from it?

If you have a history of anaemia, chances are you are not over doing it. Your body struggles to absorb iron, so you may need to go over in order to acheive normal results. Get your labs drawn on a regular basis to monitor your levels.

Old_Cat_Lady

78Phoenix wrote: »

and if I'm potentially at risk for toxicity from it?
Thanks!!

From: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-Consumer/
Can iron be harmful?

Yes, iron can be harmful if you get too much. In healthy people, taking high doses of iron supplements (especially on an empty stomach) can cause an upset stomach, constipation, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, and fainting. High doses of iron can also decrease zinc absorption. Extremely high doses of iron (in the hundreds or thousands of mg) can cause organ failure, coma, convulsions, and death. Child-proof packaging and warning labels on iron supplements have greatly reduced the number of accidental iron poisonings in children.

Some people have an inherited condition called hemochromatosis that causes toxic levels of iron to build up in their bodies. Without medical treatment, people with hereditary hemochromatosis can develop serious problems like liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, and heart disease. People with this disorder should avoid using iron supplements and vitamin C supplements.

The upper limits for iron from foods and dietary supplements are listed below. A doctor might prescribe more than the upper limit of iron to people who need higher doses for a while to treat iron deficiency.

Ages Upper Limit
Birth to 12 months 40 mg
Children 1–13 years 40 mg
Teens 14–18 years 45 mg
Adults 19+ years 45 mg

Francl27

Keep in mind that a lot of users don't bother adding iron to food entries too... so double check to make sure.

I'm worried about overdoing it also even though I'm anemic so it's a pain!

kelownagurl

sdelphy wrote: »

To summarize, myfitnesspal in the USA did and still does use 100% iron = 18 mg/day. This is based on the USA's daily value (DV) for a 2,000 calorie diet that is in turn used on USA food labels to determine the amount of iron and other nutrients within the product. Other myfitnesspal percent nutrient values within the USA are also based on this (vitamin A at 5,000 IU, vitamin C at 60mg, and calcium at 1,000 mg). In summary, these nutrients are based on what is know as "100%DV".

If I'm a 63 year old female, will 100% for me automatically change to mean 8mg?

lynn_glenmont

kelownagurl wrote: »

sdelphy wrote: »

To summarize, myfitnesspal in the USA did and still does use 100% iron = 18 mg/day. This is based on the USA's daily value (DV) for a 2,000 calorie diet that is in turn used on USA food labels to determine the amount of iron and other nutrients within the product. Other myfitnesspal percent nutrient values within the USA are also based on this (vitamin A at 5,000 IU, vitamin C at 60mg, and calcium at 1,000 mg). In summary, these nutrients are based on what is know as "100%DV".

If I'm a 63 year old female, will 100% for me automatically change to mean 8mg?

No. You only need to get about 45% to get your 8 mg a day.

mkennedy2574

Is there a way to change from percentage to actual measurement like other nutrients? odd that 3 have percentages versus showing you intake

AnnPT77

mkennedy2574 wrote: »

Is there a way to change from percentage to actual measurement like other nutrients? odd that 3 have percentages versus showing you intake

Not odd, IMO. Generally, what's used is what is part of the food labeling regulations in the US.

Currently, US labels require iron to be stated in both milligrams and percent daily value. But that's only been true since 2020-21. Before that, the requirement was only that it be stated as a percent daily value. MFP was created when percent was all that was required. Most of the entries in the MFP food database were populated when percent was all that was required. So percent is what is there now.

Could that change? Sure, anything can change. But a change like that probably isn't going to be a priority because it would require a database conversion in addition to wide software changes through the app, plus wouldn't have a lot of marketing value. ("Now with iron in milligrams!" doesn't have much appeal to market the software to new users, y'know? At best, it's a footnote.)

If someone wants to track a different amount of a nutrient in MFP than the default daily value, that is possible even for the ones in percent. In the Goals part of MFP, simply change the percent from 100% to the percent of the daily value that works for you. For example, the daily value for iron is now 18mg. If someone wants to target 8mg of iron, they'd set the goal percentage to 45%, the nearest whole number. If someone wants to target 20mg of iron, they'd set the goal percentage to 111%, also the nearest whole number.

There's info on the web about what the daily values are for all the currently-required nutrients on food labels. One example is here:

https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/daily-value-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels

Scroll down that page, and there's a table with all the current daily values.