Do you take vitamin supplements to get micronutrients?
artlover47
Posts: 76 Member
I am eating under 1200 per day to stay under my calorie goal, and I have a hard time meeting my recommended dose of calcium per day. I tried taking multi-vitamins and other types of pill supplements, but they make me feel nauseous every time despite taking with food or at different times of day/bedtime. I have not invested in calcium candy-type chews. Do other members worry about getting the proper numbers of calcium, iron, etc. or do you only watch carbs, protein, and fat? I am not a milk drinker, but eat small amounts of cheese, yogurt, sour cream, and lots of leafy greens.
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Replies
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Eat more. You are not supposed to be under your Calorie goal. You are supposed to eat as close as possible to your goal.0
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I am worried you are not getting enough macronutrients. It is very easy to miss out on getting enough protein when you aren't hitting 1200 a day. I had problems with my hair, skin and nails for months afterwards, when I had trouble hitting 1200. Not to mention general weakness.
As a post bariatric patient, I have known mal-absorption issues which includes calcium, iron, folic acid and Vitamin D. I also take a multivitamin. I take my pills with a shot glass of water or milk.0 -
I only take a supplement if I didn't get enough through that day. I try to plan my meals so I get to 100% RDA's. Food is better way to get nutrients, it's cheaper if you only use them when you need them. Your body can only absorb and use so much anyway. Also I try to separate my higher calcium meals from my higher iron meals because different vitamins and nutrients block the absorption rates of others ex. Iron and Calcium. I also eat Vit C rich foods with iron to help absorption and take D3 with calcium rich meals, though I don't think it matters when you take the D3 throughout the day.0
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I take a few supplements based on my needs: I am vegan so I supplement B12 and DHA. I also take a calcium supplement because my diet usually takes me to about 80% of my daily calcium needs. I take vitamin D because I don't get much sunlight. And finally, I supplement iron because I tend to have low iron (based on past blood tests) even when I'm eating at my goal.
I consider calcium to be an important one because the deficiencies can really impact your quality of life when you are older. If the supplements make you feel sick, I would check out a chew. My sister gets sick when she takes most supplements, but the chews don't impact her at all. If it fits your tastes and calorie goals, you could also try a fortified juice. Tofu is another good source of calcium.
Is there a reason why your calorie goal is under 1,200? You may struggle to meet many nutrient goals eating that low.0 -
Oh, yeah! My daughter bought in to the Vega One nutritional shake. You might try that to see if you tolerate it better than pills.
http://myvega.com/product/vega-one-nutritional-shake/0 -
Under instructions from my doctor I take B12 and D3 and since joining MFP I noticed that although I eat a ton of fruit and vegetables I wasn't hitting my Vitamin A requirement so I now take that as well.0
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I appreciate the concern about my intake and am super aware that 1200 is the lower limit for health. I get plenty of protein and am great on vitamins A, B, C, D, etc. I have had a blood workup done by a doctor, so I do know this. Also, no problems with iron, I just used that as an example. The only that's really hard for me is calcium because the high calcium dairy foods also tend to be more calories and less filling for me than other foods. I would definitely prefer to get it from food, but at 1200, it is tough. I was assigned that as a goal because I am short and not super active (due to a foot injury and having my 2 babies with me all the time). I didn't say that I eat WAY under my goal - nothing crazy like 1000 calories a day, but I do not go over it. I think I will try the chews. I prefer actual food to shakes...drinking calories doesn't work for me. Ditto the fortified juice suggestion. I just eat my fruits and veggies - I don't drink juice. I know calcium is extremely important...just asking what others on low-cal plans did to meet their needs. Thanks for the replies and suggestions!0
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http://nof.org/articles/886 List of calcium rich foods. Lots of green vegetables in addition to some fruit, seafood, dairy, and fortified foods.
ETA: If you're looking to stave off osteoporosis, resistance training will help.0 -
I found this as well after joining MFP. Even when I eat 1500 calories per day I can hit nearly all of them except calcium because I don't/won't drink milk. I'd rather use 100+ calories on a small treat after dinner than drink a glass of milk I don't even enjoy. When I get to maintenance I think I will try to drink more milk, but for now I'd rather not. I also rarely eat fish so I started taking fish oil and calcium supplements. Seems to be fine for me so far!0
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no I don't need to as I eat the food to get me there. The only thing I am low on today is Iron which is fine as I had hemochromitosis and vitamin A which isn't far off..and I was way over on Friday of last week...0
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I do.
They're hard to get normally.
However, if you take any, you should figure out what you actually need first. That will take a lot of homework.0 -
Don't take a supplement unless prescribed one by your doctor. MFP's database is not accurate for many micronutrients, since people enter food labels incompletely, or some micronutrients (e.g. potassium) are not typically included on labels at all. Often it will look from your diary like you're not getting enough of something, when in fact you're getting plenty.
If your doctor gives you a blood test and says you're deficient in something and you're not able to make up for it via diet alone, you might need a supplement. But without that, vitamins are usually a waste of money, at best. And too much of certain minerals can be dangerous.0 -
no I don't need to as I eat the food to get me there. The only thing I am low on today is Iron which is fine as I had hemochromitosis and vitamin A which isn't far off..and I was way over on Friday of last week...
Really? Can you tell me how much Riboflavin or Pantothenic Acid you've had today?0 -
chivalryder wrote: »no I don't need to as I eat the food to get me there. The only thing I am low on today is Iron which is fine as I had hemochromitosis and vitamin A which isn't far off..and I was way over on Friday of last week...
Really? Can you tell me how much Riboflavin or Pantothenic Acid you've had today?
I have gotten 2.1mg of riboflavin today and 4.8mg of the 5mg I should have of my Panththenic Acid also known as B5. If you had looked at my food diary you wouldn't have asked me that.
I eat a well balanced diet of lean meats, veggies and whole grain carbs etc that's why I don't take supplements...I am healthy young (42) woman who has no medical issues to speak of, lots of energy, exercise..etc. Lots of this info is available from MFP if you log.....
And since it's summer I do add in protein powder to my smoothie made with fruit, almond milk and juice.
I am more concerned with my iron and B12, iron mentioned above and B12 as my mom and her mom have issues with it.0 -
chivalryder wrote: »no I don't need to as I eat the food to get me there. The only thing I am low on today is Iron which is fine as I had hemochromitosis and vitamin A which isn't far off..and I was way over on Friday of last week...
Really? Can you tell me how much Riboflavin or Pantothenic Acid you've had today?
I have gotten 2.1mg of riboflavin today and 4.8mg of the 5mg I should have of my Panththenic Acid also known as B5. If you had looked at my food diary you wouldn't have asked me that.
I eat a well balanced diet of lean meats, veggies and whole grain carbs etc that's why I don't take supplements...I am healthy young (42) woman who has no medical issues to speak of, lots of energy, exercise..etc. Lots of this info is available from MFP if you log.....
And since it's summer I do add in protein powder to my smoothie made with fruit, almond milk and juice.
I am more concerned with my iron and B12, iron mentioned above and B12 as my mom and her mom have issues with it.
I looked at your MFP diary and found no tracking of micro nutrients. Just the usual calories, carbs, protein, fat and fiber.
However,
Far too often I see someone saying "I get all of the micro nutrients I need" then has no clue what micro nutrients s/he's actually eaten.
I am curious, for curiosities sake, where did you get your micro nutrient levels from? How are you logging and tracking them?0 -
I do, for iron and b12.0
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chivalryder wrote: »chivalryder wrote: »no I don't need to as I eat the food to get me there. The only thing I am low on today is Iron which is fine as I had hemochromitosis and vitamin A which isn't far off..and I was way over on Friday of last week...
Really? Can you tell me how much Riboflavin or Pantothenic Acid you've had today?
I have gotten 2.1mg of riboflavin today and 4.8mg of the 5mg I should have of my Panththenic Acid also known as B5. If you had looked at my food diary you wouldn't have asked me that.
I eat a well balanced diet of lean meats, veggies and whole grain carbs etc that's why I don't take supplements...I am healthy young (42) woman who has no medical issues to speak of, lots of energy, exercise..etc. Lots of this info is available from MFP if you log.....
And since it's summer I do add in protein powder to my smoothie made with fruit, almond milk and juice.
I am more concerned with my iron and B12, iron mentioned above and B12 as my mom and her mom have issues with it.
I looked at your MFP diary and found no tracking of micro nutrients. Just the usual calories, carbs, protein, fat and fiber.
However,
Far too often I see someone saying "I get all of the micro nutrients I need" then has no clue what micro nutrients s/he's actually eaten.
I am curious, for curiosities sake, where did you get your micro nutrient levels from? How are you logging and tracking them?
mostly from the packaging or the web but the MFP app has nutrient break down for the iron and other major micros such as A, C, Iron etc.
B12 I am good with as I do eat a lot of meat, milk etc. but if I do have the same issues as my mom I do might not be anything I can do about it...
Me having hemochromitosis is not normal as most females are low in iron due to their cycles but I don't have one typically and didn't for 15 years hence the issue...it has since been corrected naturally.
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chivalryder wrote: »chivalryder wrote: »no I don't need to as I eat the food to get me there. The only thing I am low on today is Iron which is fine as I had hemochromitosis and vitamin A which isn't far off..and I was way over on Friday of last week...
Really? Can you tell me how much Riboflavin or Pantothenic Acid you've had today?
I have gotten 2.1mg of riboflavin today and 4.8mg of the 5mg I should have of my Panththenic Acid also known as B5. If you had looked at my food diary you wouldn't have asked me that.
I eat a well balanced diet of lean meats, veggies and whole grain carbs etc that's why I don't take supplements...I am healthy young (42) woman who has no medical issues to speak of, lots of energy, exercise..etc. Lots of this info is available from MFP if you log.....
And since it's summer I do add in protein powder to my smoothie made with fruit, almond milk and juice.
I am more concerned with my iron and B12, iron mentioned above and B12 as my mom and her mom have issues with it.
I looked at your MFP diary and found no tracking of micro nutrients. Just the usual calories, carbs, protein, fat and fiber.
However,
Far too often I see someone saying "I get all of the micro nutrients I need" then has no clue what micro nutrients s/he's actually eaten.
I am curious, for curiosities sake, where did you get your micro nutrient levels from? How are you logging and tracking them?
mostly from the packaging or the web but the MFP app has nutrient break down for the iron and other major micros such as A, C, Iron etc.
B12 I am good with as I do eat a lot of meat, milk etc. but if I do have the same issues as my mom I do might not be anything I can do about it...
Me having hemochromitosis is not normal as most females are low in iron due to their cycles but I don't have one typically and didn't for 15 years hence the issue...it has since been corrected naturally.
PM'd you.0 -
Don't take a supplement unless prescribed one by your doctor. MFP's database is not accurate for many micronutrients, since people enter food labels incompletely, or some micronutrients (e.g. potassium) are not typically included on labels at all. Often it will look from your diary like you're not getting enough of something, when in fact you're getting plenty.
If your doctor gives you a blood test and says you're deficient in something and you're not able to make up for it via diet alone, you might need a supplement. But without that, vitamins are usually a waste of money, at best. And too much of certain minerals can be dangerous.
Yes, I found MFP database on calcium to be VERY wrong for the foods I was logging. It had a baked potato as more calcium than cheese or milk. I definitely do not use MFP to check calcium content. Thanks again for the responses.
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The only micro I take is vitamin D, as I know I'm not getting enough from food and the sun.0
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ForecasterJason wrote: »The only micro I take is vitamin D, as I know I'm not getting enough from food and the sun.
That's generally the only one that doctors tend to recommend, anyway.
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My doc has me on D3 and Folate.
If you want more calcium make some soup with bones from whatever meat you are having.
Also, kale, collard greens, turnip greens, broccoli, oranges, soy beans.0 -
I do take a supplement called Source Micro-Max for the micro nutrients. But not because of such an extreme calorie restriction. I have been taking this supplement for about 6 years or so now and have noticed an improvement in the quality of my hair and skin and a drastic reduction in my seasonal allergies. I do also take a multivitamin and joint supplement. But I try to get the majority of my nutrition by eating real food.0
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i do take vitamins and have for years. I take a Super B Complex and Vitamin D every day and every other day i take a prenatal. I was taking the prenatal every day but my blood work showed my iron is too high- so i cut back. Too much iron can poison you0
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B12 since I'm vegan and D since I'm Scottish! Usually just take a multivit like Veg1 with those in them though x0
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i do take vitamins and have for years. I take a Super B Complex and Vitamin D every day and every other day i take a prenatal. I was taking the prenatal every day but my blood work showed my iron is too high- so i cut back. Too much iron can poison you
I took prenatals while trying to get pregnant and with both pregnancies. I have some left, but they made me feel sick, so my body must get too much of something when I take those or multi-vitamins.My doc has me on D3 and Folate.
If you want more calcium make some soup with bones from whatever meat you are having.
Also, kale, collard greens, turnip greens, broccoli, oranges, soy beans.
I actually had both kale and broccoli today, as well as many other fruits and veg. I tend to eat about 12-15 different ones per day. The soup with bones idea is good. I don't normally eat many soups, but may be worth a try for the calcium issue. I like soup, just don't make it often. Today was a baking day: corn meal muffin with lima beans, red onions, and chopped tomato. I am fixing chicken tonight, so I can save some bones. I can make a broth to use in a broccoli carrot cheese soup which also has some milk in it. Thank you for the idea.0 -
Centrum women's formula has50% cv of calcium0
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