Too much fiber and iron?!
I know these amounts are just general guidelines, but could there be any adverse effects if I keep exceeding the RDA of iron and fiber on a regular basis? It's probably because I eat a lot of things like legumes and whole grains.
Answers:
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
I don't understand your website...
The RDA is the government's suggest daily intake. So you should be aiming for 100%.
There isn't any reason for your site to be saying that you should only be trying to eat a maximum of 83% of the RDA.
I can't see any negative to eating more than the RDA of fiber.
The RDA takes into consideration that most people will be getting iron from animal sources (called heme iron). Heme iron is much more readily absorbed by our bodies than non-heme iron (from vegetable sources). In fact, only a very small percentage of the iron in non-heme iron is actually available for your body to use. Where the RDA for meat eaters is between 15-18 mg/day, for vegetarians the RDA is 33 mg/day to compensate for low absorption. So keep on getting all the iron you can. Low iron can cause serious health problems.
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/iron/
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm
If you're a girl and have your period, you only eat non-heme iron (that's veganism), or if you're an athlete, you actually need a heckuva lot more iron than 61-83%. I track my food on there too and consistently go over, so don't worry about it.
About fiber, on the site it says 50-60g or more can decrease absorption of certain vitamins (like iron), so getting in the low 40s and going once or twice into the 50s isn't going to harm you.
The RDA is a safe level. You are consuming less than that. What reason do they give for needing less than the RDA?
No, you're growing and active, no worries!
Yes eating too much fiber can basically clog you up. Which is weird because the right amount of fiber does the opposite. If you want a balance in fiber drink more fresh juices. A liquid form of a food obviously has less fiber. Iron is hard to balance, too much and it makes for toxicity, too little and you will have oxygen and iron deficiencies. But its better to be on the toxicity side because that will work itself out eventually. If you are on deficiency side then your body is weak and even more prone to disease than having toxic blood for a day.