Diary under estimates nutrients? (iron, calcium etc)

Kirsty_UK
Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I've only been here 5 days now, but I'm noticing I'm well below the calcium and iron I should be having. Is this likely to be real? Should I consider supplements? Or does the database consistently miss iron and calcium from foods? Also struggling on the vit C on the days I dont have orange juice as I dont like eating citrus fruits much.

My diary is public so feel free to nose to offer advice! cheers.

Replies

  • RedHotRunner
    RedHotRunner Posts: 850 Member
    I'm sure for the most part it's real. I rarely can get over 50% of my RDA. I take calcium supplements to combat that.
  • Natalie0506
    Natalie0506 Posts: 163
    For iron, your best bet is to eat leafy greens like spinach and kale, and have some red meat once in a while. For calcium, I'd drink something other than milk. Almond milk has 50% more calcium in it than cows milk.
  • Kirsty_UK
    Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
    well hello macneil - I'm a mcneil :D

    and yeah, I'm starting to think the calcium might be real too, I only have milk on breakfast, and then 1-2 cups of tea a day
  • hyde1977
    hyde1977 Posts: 476 Member
    As I am low in iron and have been on supplements I still watch my iron all the time. However, the stuff I have been eatting has iron in it so mine has been coming close to the daily allotment.

    Again, remember the numbers are just recommendations but if you see your DR and they want you to take supplements you should. I would talk to your DR first....IRON supplements can be very hard on your system!

    :-)
  • angmora
    angmora Posts: 22
    I've done some googling to compare, and yeah it seems to be on. I take a daily vitamin.
  • RedHotRunner
    RedHotRunner Posts: 850 Member
    well hello macneil - I'm a mcneil :D

    and yeah, I'm starting to think the calcium might be real too, I only have milk on breakfast, and then 1-2 cups of tea a day
    Welcome! I add cheese and yogurt almost daily and can't seem to get enough calcium. It's one of those things that's not in a lot of food. Same with the iron. Leafy greens and red meat can help.
  • Fat2FitChick
    Fat2FitChick Posts: 451 Member
    It's real based on the nutrition info that is entered for each food. So make sure when you add food to your diary that the foods have the accurate nutrition amounts for the calcium, iron, vitamins etc... then you'll know for certain if they are correct or not.

    You could be over or under but you won't know for sure unless the food you enter in the diary is 100% accurate in those categories.
  • Taylor521
    Taylor521 Posts: 48 Member
    All nutritional information is user submitted. I've changed several entries already. I doubt many people keep track of things like iron and leave it blank.
  • Kirsty_UK
    Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
    I dont like drinking milk, but I do have a yoghurt every day, and milk on my cereal, but I wasn't sure about the calories in cheese until today, so had been avoiding that. Today I had a fantastically tasty homemade dinner with cheese, and since the rest of my day was fairly low fat, it all balanced out nicely.

    I'll speak to the doctor next time I go and see what they suggest, and double check my diary entries with google a bit better!

    Thanks all!
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