Nutrients percentages accurate!?

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fitness_camxo
fitness_camxo Posts: 11
in Food and Nutrition
I haven't made any changes as far as the nutrients settings on myfitnesspal account.

When I started myfitnesspal I entered the required info age, height, weight etc. I've been using myfitnesspal for several months now and noticed that when I check the nutrients section (not macros but the nutrients section) my vitamin intake is almost always in the red (or over 100%). It's usually in the 200% range! Is this a bad thing?

I would like to continue to take my multivitamin but I'm wondering if this is counter productive or if I'm takin in "too many" vitamins. To be honest I'm not really sure how my vitamin intake can be over 100% everyday (even without my multivitamin) because I don't eat all food groups everyday. I would appreciate any suggestions!

Replies

  • fruttibiscotti
    fruttibiscotti Posts: 986 Member
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    Perhaps you can split your multivitamin in half...looks like you may have an opportunity to save money on vitamin costs no?
  • fitness_camxo
    fitness_camxo Posts: 11
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    That is a really good idea. Any idea what the nutrients percents are based on (weight, age, height?)?
  • fitness_camxo
    fitness_camxo Posts: 11
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    That is a really good idea. Any idea what the nutrients percents are based on (weight, age, height?)?
  • Shellz31
    Shellz31 Posts: 214 Member
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    Nutrient percentages are based on the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) and it doesn't matter what your age, height, or weight is it's the same for everyone (except iron which is different based on gender). Most nutrients you don't need to worry about exceeding because the RDA is a MINIMUM. One orange and you've exceeded the RDA for Vitamin C. I eat lots of veggies and can easily get over 500% of the RDA for vitamin A. No problem, my body just eliminated (pees out!) the extra.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Nutrient percentages are based on the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) and it doesn't matter what your age, height, or weight is it's the same for everyone (except iron which is different based on gender). Most nutrients you don't need to worry about exceeding because the RDA is a MINIMUM. One orange and you've exceeded the RDA for Vitamin C. I eat lots of veggies and can easily get over 500% of the RDA for vitamin A. No problem, my body just eliminated (pees out!) the extra.

    Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin meaning your body has no way of easily excreting it if you consume it in excess, unlike vitamin C which is water soluble, and excess can easily be excreted through your urine. Fat soluble vitamins accumulate in your liver until they are needed. Consuming too much vitamin A is not good for you and can become dangerous.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    I haven't made any changes as far as the nutrients settings on myfitnesspal account.

    When I started myfitnesspal I entered the required info age, height, weight etc. I've been using myfitnesspal for several months now and noticed that when I check the nutrients section (not macros but the nutrients section) my vitamin intake is almost always in the red (or over 100%). It's usually in the 200% range! Is this a bad thing?

    I would like to continue to take my multivitamin but I'm wondering if this is counter productive or if I'm takin in "too many" vitamins. To be honest I'm not really sure how my vitamin intake can be over 100% everyday (even without my multivitamin) because I don't eat all food groups everyday. I would appreciate any suggestions!

    I wouldn't worry about 200% or 300% of your micronutrient intake, it's not a big deal. Once you start getting too high for the fat soluble vitamins, that's when it can be dangerous. Water soluble vitamins are not even an issue. You could consume 1000% of the recommended Vitamin C intake and be completely fine because it's water soluble and hence will be excreted through your urine
  • Shellz31
    Shellz31 Posts: 214 Member
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    Nutrient percentages are based on the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) and it doesn't matter what your age, height, or weight is it's the same for everyone (except iron which is different based on gender). Most nutrients you don't need to worry about exceeding because the RDA is a MINIMUM. One orange and you've exceeded the RDA for Vitamin C. I eat lots of veggies and can easily get over 500% of the RDA for vitamin A. No problem, my body just eliminated (pees out!) the extra.

    Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin meaning your body has no way of easily excreting it if you consume it in excess, unlike vitamin C which is water soluble, and excess can easily be excreted through your urine. Fat soluble vitamins accumulate in your liver until they are needed. Consuming too much vitamin A is not good for you and can become dangerous.

    NOT TRUE as long as the Vitamin A comes from VEGETABLES. Being a vegetarian, that's where I get my vitamin A. There is absolutely NO danger in consuming large amounts of Vitamin A from plants :smokin:

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/546198-can-you-get-vitamin-a-poisoning-from-eating-too-many-vegetables/
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    Nutrient percentages are based on the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) and it doesn't matter what your age, height, or weight is it's the same for everyone (except iron which is different based on gender). Most nutrients you don't need to worry about exceeding because the RDA is a MINIMUM. One orange and you've exceeded the RDA for Vitamin C. I eat lots of veggies and can easily get over 500% of the RDA for vitamin A. No problem, my body just eliminated (pees out!) the extra.

    Which vitamin A?

    Do health advisors really still use RDA in your country?
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    That is a really good idea. Any idea what the nutrients percents are based on (weight, age, height?)?

    Yes, I know all of them. It would also depend on health, activities and goals.

    I'd suggets that a multivitamin for you, like the majority of people that take them, is a waste of time and money.
  • fitness_camxo
    fitness_camxo Posts: 11
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    Nutrient percentages are based on the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) and it doesn't matter what your age, height, or weight is it's the same for everyone (except iron which is different based on gender). Most nutrients you don't need to worry about exceeding because the RDA is a MINIMUM. One orange and you've exceeded the RDA for Vitamin C. I eat lots of veggies and can easily get over 500% of the RDA for vitamin A. No problem, my body just eliminated (pees out!) the extra.

    Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin meaning your body has no way of easily excreting it if you consume it in excess, unlike vitamin C which is water soluble, and excess can easily be excreted through your urine. Fat soluble vitamins accumulate in your liver until they are needed. Consuming too much vitamin A is not good for you and can become dangerous.

    This is perfect! This answered my question completely! Thank you both so much!
  • fitness_camxo
    fitness_camxo Posts: 11
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    That is a really good idea. Any idea what the nutrients percents are based on (weight, age, height?)?

    Yes, I know all of them. It would also depend on health, activities and goals.

    I'd suggets that a multivitamin for you, like the majority of people that take them, is a waste of time and money.
    Thank you for responding! I am already taking a multivitamin (one a day for women). Any other suggestions?
  • toddis
    toddis Posts: 941 Member
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    If you are consistently over on specific vitamins you can wiki or google them and figure out if it's bad to have an excess.
    Multivitamins aren't useful if you are already eating a balanced diet. If you aren't eating a balanced diet, you likely can
    tell that you are deficient in just a few vitamins and can choose to supplement them.
  • WhyLime113
    WhyLime113 Posts: 104 Member
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    Although it's possible to suffer from an toxicity of the fat soluble vitamins, I do want to point out that it's very uncommon. Like, you can usually consume vitamin in excess and be fine; it's only in extremely high excess where you see a problem, since safe ranges are very broad for most healthy adults. So chances are, you're fine. Now, if you're pregnant or have a disease that decreases vitamin toleration, then you may have a problem.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,028 Member
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    That is a really good idea. Any idea what the nutrients percents are based on (weight, age, height?)?

    The numbers used on U.S. nutrition labels, and consequently on most of the MFP entries that have values for micronutrients, are based on RDAs. The RDA is just one recommended number for everybody, but the DRIs (dietary reference intake recommendations by the U.S. National Institute of Medicine) vary by gender and age for vit A, vit C, iron and some other micronutrients (not for calcium, except for children versus adults). You can the see the info here:
    http://www.iom.edu/Global/News Announcements/~/media/Files/Activity Files/Nutrition/DRIs/DRI_Summary_Listing.pdf

    Pages 1 & 2 of that document have recommended levels for vitamins and minerals, and pages 3 & 4 list tolerable upper levels, if you're worried about getting too much.

    I've adjusted my MFP targets for iron and calcium up to 120% to account for the disparity between RDA and DRI for my status (I use the under 50 figures for women, even though I've passed 50, because the next segment is 50 to 70, and I figure those recommendations are averages for those who are post-menopausal). I've also lowered the vit A and vit C targets for the same reason -- I think it's 78% and 83% respectively for my status, but I admit the last time I changed my target weight (when I started to feel confident I might actually be able to make it to a healthy BMI), MFP wiped out all my other changes and I had to input them again, and I relied on my memory instead of looking up the figures and doing the math again.

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