too much iron?

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candicemcl
candicemcl Posts: 59
in Food and Nutrition
I try to get to the 100% and not over by more than 50 or so, but the last 2 days I was over ALOT looking at Wednesday & Thursday it was 210% & 263% total. My dietary fibre was at 27 & 35 but I am gassy...crampy and just uncomfortable. I have been able to go to the bathroom today so I don't understand why I feel so blah now. I am taking a womens one a day multivitamin should i maybe cut that out for now as I only started my healthy habits just over 2 wks ago and I know my body does have to get used to me treating it better, and I have always been told too much Iron can "bung" ya up
I just want relief!

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  • jaylu
    jaylu Posts: 158
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    how on earth are you eating too much iron? i have to take vitamins with extra iron because im hitting nowhere near the iron target each day!
  • candicemcl
    candicemcl Posts: 59
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    well I have Frosted mini wheats for breakfast some mornings, 2 servings (40 mini wheats) that is 180% iron right there, then add my multivitamin that has 100%
  • jaylu
    jaylu Posts: 158
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    ohh i see, being on mfp made me realize i really wasnt getting enough iron so ive just started to take the 100% iron tablet every morning with breakfast - lets hope there only positive reactions!
  • candicemcl
    candicemcl Posts: 59
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    me too I saw I wasn't getting enough initially so I bought a mutlivitamin, when I realized I went over by that much in 2 days I had to look back at my foods and noticed that the mini wheats has a good dose in it already so I think I have just shocked my body cuz although I am only trying to maintain and build some muscle I had very unhealthy eating habits before finding MFP
  • looserlori
    looserlori Posts: 3
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    Iron can bind you up. I have to eat 30 grams of fiber a day, because I have diverticulitis. Even so you need to drink water or the fiber won't work.
  • lindalloo
    lindalloo Posts: 47
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    Good for you that you're taking vitamins! I also started taking vitamins late last year and feel great for it. I wouldn't worry too much about going over on anything, especially iron. Most women don't have near enough iron in their diets and therefore benefit from supplements.

    I've been severely anemic for many years and have only started doing something about it now. (I know, I'm bad!) I take 300mg of iron three times a day on my doctor's orders. When I first started, I misread the label on the bottle and thought I wasn't taking enough. After I realized my very embarrassing error, I wondered what the outcome would be from the 6,000mg I took in one day. Six thousand in one day! ACK! Lucky for me, I never have "bung" issues, so that wasn't a problem. My doctor and pharmacist couldn't believe I took that many and was still perfectly regular!

    But if it's a concern for you .. and sadly, this is the reason so many women stop taking iron supplements .. lots of water, exercise and fiber should keep things moving nicely. Good luck to you! :flowerforyou:
  • Johnnyswife
    Johnnyswife Posts: 1,447 Member
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    well I have Frosted mini wheats for breakfast some mornings, 2 servings (40 mini wheats) that is 180% iron right there, then add my multivitamin that has 100%
    Ooh really? Frosted Mini Wheats have that much iron? I need to get a box of that! Only problem is that my loving family will scarf it up and leave nothing for me. lol I need to take iron, because I am slightly anemic. I used to take a tab everyday, but got out of the habbit.
  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
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    Iron can be one of the most dangerous vitamins that you ever take. But after doing some research on the matter, I came to the conclusion that dietary consumption does not come close to the overdose level by a HUGE margin. An iron overdose is typically on purpose due to the massive amount of iron it would take.

    Having said that, yes it can stop you up. Water and fiber will be your best friends, followed shortly by coffee and prunes......
  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
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    well I have Frosted mini wheats for breakfast some mornings, 2 servings (40 mini wheats) that is 180% iron right there, then add my multivitamin that has 100%
    Ooh really? Frosted Mini Wheats have that much iron? I need to get a box of that! Only problem is that my loving family will scarf it up and leave nothing for me. lol I need to take iron, because I am slightly anemic. I used to take a tab everyday, but got out of the habbit.

    Frosted mini wheats have high iron and little to no sodium!!!
  • emybball
    emybball Posts: 16
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    Hi! I wouldn't worry too much about going over if you're factoring in the vitamin. My old roommate is a Dietician and I was worried about getting too much of certain vitamins through a mulit and mentioned that to her. She informed me that your body absorbs vitamins from a pill form differently than it absorbs them from food. If you look at the percentage on vitamin packs some of them you'll notice are 200% (or sometimes even more) of your daily need for that particular vitamin...this is because your body doesn't necessarily absorb all of it. I feel like I just rambled...does that make sense? Anyway, I say all that to say...I think you're probably getting the right amount and wouldn't stress about getting too much!
  • candicemcl
    candicemcl Posts: 59
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    Yes Mini wheats are awesome! I have the Brown sugar ones, they have potassium and not alot of sodium.
    I think I am just going to only have one serving when I do have them and keep with my vitamin. I am sure my body is just adjusting as I am not used to healthy amounts of food, also I gotta make sure I keep my water up.
    I am still crampy this morning but just going to make sure i get my fibre up and atleast slow down the iron for now. Mine was always low before but not considered anemic by my Dr so I don't want to drop it altogether. Hopefully it doesn't take long for my body to adjust!
    Thanks for all the comments, I had started some reading online about iron overdosing and kinda got myself nervous. One site said a women between 19-50 only needs 18mg but of course i don't know how to work that into the percentages I have so I have no idea where i am to that.

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