Sugars and iron

stellanne

Can anyone please advise.... I have been with the site for nearly a week and am really enjoying dieting with no fuss and the great feeling of being in control. My problem at the moment is that no matter how I try my sugar intake is way too high with 'secret' sugar mountains. And at the other end of the scale, I cannot seem to eat enough iron. As a vegetarian the normal ways to boost iron intake is a no no!!!! Any ideas? C x x hugs x x

clbdammit

Google "vegan iron", and you will find lists of vegan foods high in iron. What I want to know is what that 100 figure is - the recommended amount according to most websites is 14ish up to a maximum of 33mg. Still, my blood iron has been know to be low so I will aim for that mysterious 100 for now, and it is remarkably easy to get to with a bit of planning and lots of veg.

I also have the same problem with sugar, if you look at the sugar column of your food diary there should be no secret, you should be able to see what foods score high. To my surprise I found that plain Provamel yogurt has a fair bit of sugar in, so will be looking for alternatives.

workerbee2011

MFP doesn't differentiate between processed and non-processed sugars, so your sugar total will include sugars from fruit and vegetables. If your sugar is high because of additives to food you didn't know about then I'd try cut down, but if it's from non-processed sources then I don't think you need to stress.

Aroz25

If you're having trouble getting enough iron the easiest option is iron tablets. I take multivitamins every day so I know I'm getting a good amount of iron, vit C etc. And tracking sugar is always a bit difficult as fruits are full of natural sugar and I eat a lot of fruit every day so I'm always bound to be over. As long as you can avoid adding extra sugar to food or drinks and look for options that have little or no sugar added. Artificial sweeteners are no better either unless you can find a natural sweetener like Stevia

clbdammit

@workerbee2011: I guess I'm taking this blunt instrument too literally Does this mean I can disregard the scores from fruit and keep having a little bit of chocolate?
@aroz25: Indeed, iron tablets are always an option. I'm taking them at the moment, but when I run out and have fully revamped my diet and shopping list, I'll try to do without

Mustlovepugs11

I have the same problem. I take iron supplements and I also recently started eating Total cereal. Just one serving has 100% of your daily needs.

clbdammit

Unfortunately, being gluten-intolerant restricts my options - no bran flakes for me...