Micronutrient breakdown

[Cooper27]

Someone told me about an app yesterday, which calculates your micronutrients if you put in your food diary - it's a real eye opener!

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say what the app is called, but I can PM anyone who wishes to look at it.

I've suspected for a long time that I don't get enough calcium, but have always struggled to work out exactly how much I'm getting. Well I'm right - I don't get enough calcium! So now I can look into that.

Edited to add app name: Cronometer - it works like myfitnesspal, but you can also create custom recipes

[Hidden]

Hi Cooper27, there is a very big difference between advertising a product for financial gain and recommending a product that works for you.

One word of warning with any app is it may tell you how much calcium is in your diet but it does not know the amount of calcium absorbed by your body. Coeliac are prone to malabsorption so please bear this in mind.

Another thing to bear in mind is the majority of calcium supplements are calcium carbonate (chalk) chalk molecules are 100,000 times larger than calcium molecules in food so our kidneys end up working harder to get rid of the majority of chalk. So our bodies only absorb a fraction of calcium from calcium carbonate >3% if you're you're lucky.

Sesame seeds pack a big nutritional punch of calcium so I add them to many things.

And we know that you're not a spammer so please feel free to say about the app you use many members talk about their Fit bit devices, me included.

I hope that this answers your query and thank you for being considerate. 😊

[Cooper27 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Jerry - I was talking to someone about calcium supplements the other day, and knew there was a reason we don't take them, but couldn't remember why

Thankfully I don't have coeliac disease (my OH does, so I know the struggle) so I think the GDA should be ok for me

I will definitely look at sesame seeds and hear chia seeds are good too!

[Zest]

Hi Cooper27

I'd like to know the name of that app that you've found helpful, so please do let me know what it is. I would be interested to have a look.

Hope you're enjoying the week.

Zest

[Cooper27 in reply to Zest]

It's called Cronometer - as Rachelleigh has pointed out, unfortunately it does have a mostly American food database, but I hope a lot of the information would be comparable.

[DianaTrapani in reply to Cooper27]

I am in the USA and use Loseit app to track food intake. Provides same info as a nutritional label. Basic info is free, paid upgrades for for more options.

[rachelleigh73]

Hi Cooper - I came across Cronometer at the end of last year. I love the idea but get frustrated at how limited the database is compared to MFP. I think it's American data, so American brands dominate. Whilst I try not to eat too much processed stuff I think most of us eat some. Perhaps as the word spreads in the UK the database will expand and become more helpful. I especially like the food recommendations - if I'm deficient of particular vitamins on a particular day I like that it gives advice on how to correct that. And I also like the trends function so I can see the bigger picture. Thanks for reminding me about it!

[Cooper27 in reply to rachelleigh73]

That's a good point I cooked quite a lot from raw ingredients yesterday, so I suppose that plays into it. I did have to sub a couple of brands, but hoped it wouldn't influence the numbers too much.

I did notice a couple of Tesco own brand items in there, so hopefully their database is growing!

[rachelleigh73 in reply to Cooper27]

Let's spread the word ...! I've just taken another look at it - it's such a brilliant concept...

[Cooper27 in reply to rachelleigh73]

I just loved personalising my own recipes. I always gave up on mfp, because working out how much 1/2 a pepper, 1/4 of an onion etc. weighs, for every meal, was tedious. Now I put I the whole recipe and say I ate 1/4 of it, and it's there for next time

[rachelleigh73 in reply to Cooper27]

I like 'exploding' my recipes - it appeals to the big kid in me - BANG! 😉

[andyswarbs]

A happy cronometer user..

[Kai--]

Supplemental Cronometer 📱 ( cronometer.com/ ) information if interested 🤔 , Cooper27:

. . . • If you (or anyone ☺️ ) likes learning through videos 📹 , some of these demonstration videos might be of interest: google.com/search?as_q=Cron...

. . . • If you’re a fan of ’Mic the Vegan’ 🍃 ( m.youtube.com/channel/UCGJq... ), you might enjoy his ‘How To’ use a Cronometer demo: m.youtube.com/watch?vl=en&v... (And, he mentions Calcium at minute: 10:40.)

.

• If curious about other Macro/ Micro-Nutrient Database Tools 🛠 🧰 , these might be fun to explore:

. . . 🔎 SELFNutritionData ‘Nutrients in Food Tool’: nutritiondata.self.com/tool...

. . . 🔎 USDA Food Composition Databases: ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/nutrie...

.

• If you’ve a dietician 👩‍🏫 , nutritionist 👨‍💻 , naturopath 👩‍🌾 (etc. 👨‍🍳 👩‍🔬 👨‍⚕️ ) . . . they might use a professional software tool such as, FoodWorks ( google.com/search?as_q=Food... ), which is also another neat tool to watch 👀 how it works! (Fascinating 😯✨ stuff!!) ☺️

.

[Now, I’m waiting for a software tool 🔧

. . . that’ll prepare 👩‍🍳 🍽

. . . . . the food 🥬 🍓 🍠

. . . . . . . . & serve it 🥗 🍵 🍱 .

. . . . . . . . . . . 😃 😋 ☺️ ]

.

[Cooper27 in reply to Kai--]

Thanks Kai, I'll check out the tools later tonight

[Kai-- in reply to Cooper27]

👍👍

[rachelleigh73 in reply to Kai--]

Wow - loads of resources - looking forward to checking them out - thanks Kai!

[Kai-- in reply to rachelleigh73]

Very welcome, rachelleigh73. 🙏 😌

(More tools 🔧 🔨 ⛏ for the toolbox 🧰 . ☺️ )

[Or . . . is it more toys 🧸 🎈⚽️ for the toy box 📦 ? 🤔 ]

☺️

.

[g3mst0n3s]

Hi, Cooper27 and Kai, I just want to mention that I also use Cronometer, SELFNutritionData, and USDA Food Composition Databases. They are so powerful, information packed, and useful!

[Kai-- in reply to g3mst0n3s]

👍👍 Good stuff, g3mst0n3s!! ☺️