Should my friend be concerned about the nutrients that she is consuming in exces!
Question: She is 20 yrs old, 5'4", 114 pounds....a year ago she weighed 120 pounds, and she has just started college. Recently she has been feeling tired and has difficulty concentrating in class.
She evaluated her diet and noticed that she consumes more than the amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium. Her calorie intake is less than the recommended amount and, since she is losing weight is not enough to maintain her body weight. Her iron intake is well below the recommendation for women.
Is this a health risk?
Answers: She is 20 yrs old, 5'4", 114 pounds....a year ago she weighed 120 pounds, and she has just started college. Recently she has been feeling tired and has difficulty concentrating in class.
She evaluated her diet and noticed that she consumes more than the amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium. Her calorie intake is less than the recommended amount and, since she is losing weight is not enough to maintain her body weight. Her iron intake is well below the recommendation for women.
Is this a health risk?
This is not necessarily a health risk, but there are a couple factors that you listed that need to change. Her weight at 114 is within the "normal" range; that's not a problem at all. Her goal calorie intake will significantly depend on her exercise habits. I'll list the appropriate scenarios based off of maintaining her current weight: 1530 (little or no dedicated exercise), 1750 (exercise 3 times per week), 1860 (exercise 5 times per week), 2080 (exercise everyday - everyday, no missing).
Her intake of vitamin C and calcium are of no real concern. They will not build up in her body, nor will they negatively affect her energy levels. The obvious concerns of what you've listed are her vitamin A and iron intake amounts. It sounds like you're already aware of vitamin A being a fat-soluble vitamin. If taken in excess (4,000 IU +) over a long period of time (12-15 months), it could become toxic in her body. I'm not saying that this is the case with your friend, but the levels of vitamins A, D, E, and K should be well regulated. Also, I listed the lowest precautionary level at 4,000 IU daily. People have taken doses of 100,000 IU per day and been able to reverse the toxic effect so, don't worry too much. Just get her to assess it before it becomes an issue. Her daily vitamin A intake should be around 2,300 IU or 700 mcg RE.
As for her iron deficiency, this would explain her low energy levels. This is a simple fix. I find that it's usually easier to add something to one's diet than it is to remove something. She can increase her consumption of high iron foods (red meat, fish, poultry, lentils, beans, leaf vegetables, tofu, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, too many to list) or simpler yet, she can take an iron supplement. A supplement would require no change in her eating habits. She would be more likely to accomplish this everyday. With supplementing iron, one should also increase their intake of folic acid and vitamin B-12, as iron depletes these in the body. I know of a supplement called Tri-Iron Folic that would be perfect. It's made by Nutrilite, the best in the supplement business. I personally only take their supplements because of their consistency and quality control (which are huge issues when you look into supplement companies), not to mention that they are the choice of many Olympic athletes. They are hard to find, as they are privately distributed. I get mine from a reliable source online, www.keylagohealth.com.
If your friend addresses these issues appropriately and still has similar symptoms, she should see her physician. There always could be some underlying issue that you may not be aware of.
I hope this helps.
The short answer is yes. It doesn't sound as if she's lost that much weight, but she really didn't need to lose any. It is possible that she has become anemic. In addition; an imbalance of minerals such as calcium and phosphorus can cause irregular heart beats. Hypoglycemia can contribute to her inability to concentrate. It's important she see a physician to have some tests run and then a professional nutritionist to get her nutrition back to a more natural steady state.