Advice needed before head explodes!

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SarahBailey36
SarahBailey36 Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
After tracking my food I have become aware of a shortfall on my personal recommended intakes on vits and minerals, especially potassium and Iron. Is it best to use a supplement for this or does anyone have any advice on what's best to eat? Would prefer to get what I need from natural sources if possible. Been searching and searching foods etc but end up more confused! Daily amounts just seem very high?? Anyone else find this?

Replies

  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
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    Here’s how many milligrams (mg) of potassium you'll get from these potassium-rich foods:
    •Winter squash, cubed, 1 cup, cooked: 896 mg
    •Sweet potato, medium, baked with skin: 694 mg
    •Potato, medium, baked with skin: 610 mg
    •White beans, canned, drained, half cup: 595 mg
    •Yogurt, fat-free, 1 cup: 579 mg
    •Halibut, 3 ounces, cooked: 490 mg
    •100% orange juice, 8 ounces: 496 mg
    •Broccoli, 1 cup, cooked: 457 mg
    •Cantaloupe, cubed, 1 cup: 431 mg
    •Banana, 1 medium: 422 mg
    •Pork tenderloin, 3 ounces, cooked: 382 mg
    •Lentils, half cup, cooked: 366 mg
    •Milk, 1% low fat, 8 ounces: 366 mg
    •Salmon, farmed Atlantic, 3 ounces, cooked: 326 mg
    •Pistachios, shelled, 1 ounce, dry roasted: 295 mg
    •Raisins, quarter cup: 250 mg
    •Chicken breast, 3 ounces, cooked: 218 mg
    •Tuna, light, canned, drained, 3 ounces: 201 mg
    Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

    Foods rich in iron include:
    •Red meat
    •Pork
    •Poultry
    •Seafood
    •Beans
    •Dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach
    •Dried fruit, such as raisins and apricots
    •Iron-fortified cereals, breads and pastas
    •Peas


    As for me, I have to take an iron supplement because I always have low iron when they do my blood work. I try to get enough through my food, but my body apparently still falls short.
  • AbiBain
    AbiBain Posts: 29 Member
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    It is hard to handle too much information at once. Pick one thing to look into and work on that then pick something else and work on it and so on. Take your time, it's better to do it right than fast. Don't be afraid to try a new food, you never have to eat it again if you hate it!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Most people don't enter minerals in the database, so it might be why you're falling short.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Most packaged foods don't track potassium on their labels or information, so you may be getting more potassium than you think. Bananas, potatoes or sweet potatoes with skin, and even some fish and meats are high in potassium. I track mine, and if it's low, take an over-the-counter supplement. Some folks use no-salt salt substitutes, which are mostly potassium, but some people find them bitter.Even the OTC supplements supply only a small portion of daily needs; the high does supplements are available only by prescription for people with medical conditions like chronic dehydration or high blood pressure. Apparently, they are extremely difficult to tolerate.
  • fannyfrost
    fannyfrost Posts: 756 Member
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    Eating a diet with a lot of fruits and veggies can help, but not always. I eat a lot of Spinach and Kale because they are high in Iron and other vitamins. Sweet Potatos are a great source for Potassium as are bananas.

    That being said, my iron levels border on low, so I take an iron supplement. The one I take is really good because it has B vitamin in it too. The idea being that it helps with tummy issues, IDK because I take fish oil to counter the tummy issue from Iron. The doctor told me to take iron and many doctors recommend it for women.

    Potassium though, I often eat a banana every day. Right now I am not, got sick last week, put it back in my diet for a few days. It helped me get my balance on vitamins back.

    So the best source is to get it from food, cereal often has iron added, etc. However, it doesn't always work and many doctors recommend supplements especially when on a diet.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    You can supplement if you feel you need to but bear in mind that a lot of entries don't have complete nutritional info (so you could be eating enough) and it's dangerous to get too much potassium.

    Off the top of my head, potatoes and bananas for potassium and red meat and green leafy veg for iron. I wouldn't let it bother you too much, you probably didn't even think about it before logging?
  • MsJulesRenee
    MsJulesRenee Posts: 1,180 Member
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    Potassium isn't usually listed on nutrition labels because it is optional to display it or not. You're probably getting more than you think.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited May 2015
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    The potassium requirement seems a bit crazy, yes. I have a very difficult time meeting it but I've also never had a problem with my iron or potassium levels in my lab work and that includes a couple of years while on a daily diuretic. I do take a multivitamin but it's a gummy so doesn't have either of those in it.

    As others have stated, many food labels don't list potassium because it's not required. I find it funny that even foods which are high in potassium, such as a bag of pistachios, often don't list it.
  • SarahBailey36
    SarahBailey36 Posts: 3 Member
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    xcalygrl wrote: »
    Here’s how many milligrams (mg) of potassium you'll get from these potassium-rich foods:
    •Winter squash, cubed, 1 cup, cooked: 896 mg
    •Sweet potato, medium, baked with skin: 694 mg
    •Potato, medium, baked with skin: 610 mg
    •White beans, canned, drained, half cup: 595 mg
    •Yogurt, fat-free, 1 cup: 579 mg
    •Halibut, 3 ounces, cooked: 490 mg
    •100% orange juice, 8 ounces: 496 mg
    •Broccoli, 1 cup, cooked: 457 mg
    •Cantaloupe, cubed, 1 cup: 431 mg
    •Banana, 1 medium: 422 mg
    •Pork tenderloin, 3 ounces, cooked: 382 mg
    •Lentils, half cup, cooked: 366 mg
    •Milk, 1% low fat, 8 ounces: 366 mg
    •Salmon, farmed Atlantic, 3 ounces, cooked: 326 mg
    •Pistachios, shelled, 1 ounce, dry roasted: 295 mg
    •Raisins, quarter cup: 250 mg
    •Chicken breast, 3 ounces, cooked: 218 mg
    •Tuna, light, canned, drained, 3 ounces: 201 mg
    Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

    Foods rich in iron include:
    •Red meat
    •Pork
    •Poultry
    •Seafood
    •Beans
    •Dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach
    •Dried fruit, such as raisins and apricots
    •Iron-fortified cereals, breads and pastas
    •Peas


    As for me, I have to take an iron supplement because I always have low iron when they do my blood work. I try to get enough through my food, but my body apparently still falls short.

    Thank you so much for that. Does seem to make it easier to achieve target amounts daily with simple changes. Thanks for the info..very much appreciated.
  • SarahBailey36
    SarahBailey36 Posts: 3 Member
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    AbiBain wrote: »
    It is hard to handle too much information at once. Pick one thing to look into and work on that then pick something else and work on it and so on. Take your time, it's better to do it right than fast. Don't be afraid to try a new food, you never have to eat it again if you hate it!

    Yes you are right! I seem to go into overdrive and want to achieve it all at once! Will look at each area and take it from there. Thanks for the advice.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    CurvyToFit wrote: »
    Potassium isn't usually listed on nutrition labels because it is optional to display it or not. You're probably getting more than you think.

    This.

    When you log whole foods like meat and veggies (or potatoes or fruit, etc.), consider using the non-asterisk entries input by MFP (read any logging thread for more information). Those have potassium, and you will likely see you are getting lots more than was showing up.

    Same with iron. The MFP numbers are not accurate for most of us.

    I would have a test for a deficiency before supplementing, most people aren't deficient. And with iron in particular getting too much can be very bad. My mother has a condition related to too much iron, so it's something I'm wary about.
  • RosieWest8
    RosieWest8 Posts: 185 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Since most entries probably don't include those things you could use something like Cron-o-meter to track your food and it does that as well --- you could do this for just a short period of time until you get a good idea of what your avg. mineral/vitamin intake is and whether is off or not -- just so that you're not constantly tracking in two places. Or if you have your regular check-up at the doctor I'd just ask them to do some basic blood work to determine whether you are actually deficient in those things --- if you're not then don't worry about it, you must be getting enough.

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