Micronutrient Calculator

Micronutrients are essential elements required by our bodies to function healthily by coordinating a range of physiological functions. Micronutrients are often referred to as vitamins and minerals, and human bodies need them in small amounts (usually less than 100 mg per day). This calculator focuses only on microelements, which include major elements (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus) and minor elements (iron, chlorine, copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, iodine, selenium, chromium, fluoride). You can find these micronutrients examples by clicking on the drop-down list in the third field of the calculator. Vitamin D calculator and vitamin A calculators could also be useful when trying to plan micronutrient-oriented meals.

Most of the minerals in a human diet come from eating different foods and drinking water.

As mentioned above, our bodies need micronutrients in relatively small quantities, whereas we need large quantities of macronutrients to get energy.

Macronutrients include:

• Proteins;
• Fats; and
• Carbohydrates.

Micronutrient deficiency can cause visible and dangerous illnesses, but it can also lead to less threatening health conditions, e.g. reductions in energy level or muscle cramps.

Depending on the micronutrient, symptoms of the deficiencies will vary, e.g. iron deficiency is associated with developing anemia, whereas magnesium deficiency can result in frequent muscle spasms. Deficiencies in iron and iodine are the most common around the world (particularly in children and pregnant women).

Most of the deficiencies are preventable through a healthy and balanced diet.

The micronutrient calculator shows your dietary reference intake (DRI) for all elements. What is dietary reference intake you may ask? Daily reference intake (DRI) is the general term for a set of reference values used to plan and assess the nutrient intake required for healthy people. These values may vary by age, sex, and physiologic state.
There are three terms associated with DRI:

• Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) - the average daily dietary intake level sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97–98 percent) healthy individuals in a group;
• Adequate Intake (AI) - AI is believed to cover the needs of all healthy individuals in the groups but is used when not enough information is available from scientific research to determine RDA; and
• Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) - the maximum daily intake that is unlikely to cause adverse health effects.

Our micronutrient calculator uses RDA and AI values - let's see how easy it is to use it!

1. Input your age.
2. Choose your sex.
3. Select the element you are interested in from the micronutrients list.

That's it! You will see your recommended daily allowance for the chosen element, based on your age and sex.

The data comes from Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academies and shows RDA intake levels when possible.