Vitamins to meet your daily vitamin/nutrient targets?

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majess1022
majess1022 Posts: 70 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you meet (or come close to) your recommended guidelines for calcium, iron, vitamin c, etc., through your regular diet? Or, do you take vitamins to meet the recommended amounts?

Through daily logging, I have realized that my iron intake is in the gutter (along with vitamin c and calcium usually). How do you hit your nutrition targets?

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  • ldula88
    ldula88 Posts: 169 Member
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    I don't go crazy with the supplements, but I do always take a vitamin supplement (One a Day Women's) for overall nutrients, plus I take a magnesium supplement, because I never come close to the recommended amount. Taking a multi-vitamin is just another way to make sure you're doing the best you can for your body.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,871 Member
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    Yes, I take supplements with meals. As I discussed with my doctor, I have no idea if they help, but they don't hurt. I did research recommended amounts before introducing them. For instance, I learned that high iron for post-menopausal women and men can be dangerous so I quit adding iron. I took my health very seriously (and still do) for about a year before visiting my doctor. I had excellent numbers. I am healthier than my "whole health" doctor. Woo-hoo!
  • maracuya23
    maracuya23 Posts: 122
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    I do supplement because my tested levels of things like iron always come up low. To bring iron levels up without supplements, try lots of green leafy veggies, beets, and cooking in cast iron pans. There are some helpful googleable lists of iron-rich foods too (I can't quite stomach chicken livers myself, but they're another good source.)

    Eta: The office of dietary supplements through the NIH has a really helpful website with detailed info on all kinds of micronutrients.
  • OMGeeeHorses
    OMGeeeHorses Posts: 732 Member
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    I take supplements because I am low in Iron and Vitamin D which gives me episodes of SEVERE depression. So I do a multi vitamin for a exercising woman and then take B12 and Vitamin D3 drops, along with a fish oil pill and pro-biotic pill. Other than that, I get the rest of my stuff from fruits and veggies :).
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
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    I take a multivitamin for vegetarians just in case I'm not getting enough iron and B12.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    if you are measuring those things using MFP then i would take it with a pinch of salt as a lot of foods in the database dont include the vitamins & minerals.
  • majess1022
    majess1022 Posts: 70 Member
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    Thanks, everyone! I will look into some good supplements. I've noticed my hair has been falling out more than normal for the past few months, along with some tiredness I can never kick. Now that my diet is improving, I hope upping the vitamins will help things.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    don't take iron supplements before it is confirmed that you have low iron. I take in according to my macros on average only 19% of my daily iron, but the blood test revealed that I actually have high iron (it's a little unusual in a vegetarian apparently) and that's not great either
  • majess1022
    majess1022 Posts: 70 Member
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    don't take iron supplements before it is confirmed that you have low iron. I take in according to my macros on average only 19% of my daily iron, but the blood test revealed that I actually have high iron (it's a little unusual in a vegetarian apparently) and that's not great either

    Interesting! Okay, I'm sure I am due for a check up soon. I will make sure I get some accurate #s.

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