Iron goal seems high?

mariong123
mariong123 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
Hi All,
the goal on my tracker says 100 is the amount f needed and I never get anywhere near that. The dietary guide says 19 mg is the goal for women per day. So I wonder if "100" is the same as 19 mg? Or is it set way too high at 100 mg? And if so, how do I change the amount?
I can't find information anywhere on Fitness pal about that.

Replies

  • sheepotato
    sheepotato Posts: 600 Member
    You can change it here if you'd like myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_custom

    It does seem high, my vitamin contains 27mg and says it's 150% of the RDA.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    It's 100% of RDA (which is 18mg or so). All the micronutrients tracked by MFP (Vit A, C, Iron, and Calcium) are tracked by percentage, since that is typically how food labels state it.
  • Docbanana2002
    Docbanana2002 Posts: 357 Member
    edited January 2015
    Yeah, what the person above me said. It isn't 100mg, it is 100% of your recommended daily allowance.
  • rustypep
    rustypep Posts: 31 Member
    I take an iron supplement to help me. I had the same issue and I don't eat a lot of fish or shell fish. I take it with my orange juice as you need vitamin c to absorb it. I get some of my iron from veggies and meat but on a low carb diet it is a challenge.
  • paszekmonika
    paszekmonika Posts: 60 Member
    Yeah but women need more than 100%. We need about 27mg per day. I take an iron supplement now as I'm a vegetarian and it's quite difficult for me to get enough of it. Tried to give blood lately but because of my iron level I couldn't again.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    It's 100% so the 19mg. A lot of entries don't have complete nutritional info so you might be closer than you think. I take an iron tablet (but I always have).
  • snl321
    snl321 Posts: 2 Member
    Iron is tricky! The requirement for men of all ages and for women over 50 (post-menopause) is just 8 mg per day. The requirement for women 14-49 (adolescence-menopause) is 18 mg of iron per day.

    If myfitnesspal uses the childbearing-women number for the 100%, then it is double what the actual need for men and older women. If myfitnesspal uses the men's number, then it is too low for young women.

    Since your date of birth and gender are in your profile, is the 100% calculated based on your gender and age? Where can we find the actual mg for iron that myfitnesspal uses as a goal?
  • kxforg
    kxforg Posts: 36 Member
    Not all women or mean for that matter need extra iron. That is untrue. If you are worried about your iron get your levels tested, all your levels, your serum, absorbtion, the lot. I set my custom to 25% iron daily and no more.

    Why? Because there is a little known genetic disorder called hemochromatosis. What happens is the body, liver really, malfuntions and it cannot regulate your iron and it begins to build up in the tissues. It causes heart disease, liver disease, kidney problems, it affects the brain, and lots of other fun things.

    Just like anything else check with your doctor before making assumptions.






  • swankcherry
    swankcherry Posts: 1 Member
    Here's a website I found that shows the exact amounts the FDA uses to get the percentages.

    http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm064928.htm
  • princessruns
    princessruns Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks for this post! I was just checking on my iron because I gave blood this week and was making sure I got enough. When I switched to iron is said 100! Glad that is RDA and not mg. I need about 18 mg so I can adjust my eating for a few days.
  • jsc1953
    jsc1953 Posts: 2 Member
    I would like to know what the app considers 100% of my iron goal but can't find anything but the 100% listed anywhere. I'm over 60 and wonder if it is still expecting me to getting extra iron. Is there a way to find mg?
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    jsc1953 wrote: »
    I would like to know what the app considers 100% of my iron goal but can't find anything but the 100% listed anywhere. I'm over 60 and wonder if it is still expecting me to getting extra iron. Is there a way to find mg?

    The app just uses the information on food labels, which in turn (in the U.S.) use the RDA for non-lactating, non-pregnant, pre-menopausal women (18 mg).
  • mistypenningtongoin
    mistypenningtongoin Posts: 22 Member
    I snack on Cheerios for iron.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    TeacupsAndToning wrote: »
    I just want to say that before you worry much about your iron intake please have your iron and ferritin levels tested. You should always be tested for anemia and iron overload before doing anything to raise your iron levels.

    This bears repeating.
  • mangrothian
    mangrothian Posts: 1,351 Member
    Also remember that not all foods in the MFP database will have the iron content listed in them (I don't put it in for my custom entries), so even if your food contains iron, it might not have been input for a food you're using. I'd take your iron intake from your logging with a grain of salt (or iron as the case may be here! :D )

    Things to check with your blood test:
    • Haemoglobin
    • Ferritin
    • Transferrin saturation (TSAT)

    Low haemoglobin = Iron deficiency anaemia
    Low ferritin & TSAT = Iron deficiency
    They're two different things, and you can have one but not the other, and you certainly can have both.
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