Cronometer + WFPB
The questions"is cronometer helpful on a whole food plant based diet?" comes up so often I decided to put together a quick tutorial on how I would suggest setting up the app to best help you. First and foremost though, no app can tell you what nutrients are in the foods you consume. Even if you weigh your food, the levels of nutrients are only averages. The only way to know if you are absorbing too little, or too much of any nutrient is by having blood work done. There are also many health issues that affect the way you absorb nutrients and no app can break that down for you. I also recommend people read the book WHOLE by Dr.Campbell before considering tracking nutrients. It will give you a sobering understanding of why these apps are interesting, but not even close to a proper picture of your nutrient intake or what you body even needs.
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Here is a cool video about how inaccurate tracking nutrient profiles can be.
So lets start with the Macros - Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat. These are the nutrients that make up calories. On a Whole Food Plant Based diet the goals you should set are 80% Carbohydrates, 10% Fat and 10% Protein. This is especially important if you are dealing with a disease you are trying to reverse or manage. If you are otherwise healthy you may be ok at a slightly lower ratio - like 74% Carbohydrates, 13% Fat and 13% Protein range. To update the Macro Profile you will need to log into Cronometer and go to "SETTINGS" and then "TARGETS" - see screen shot below.
Next you will want to scroll down to the "Nutrient Targets" which are then broken down to sub categories. Under each category I will specify which target I have customized, and if you click on the target I suggest it will take you to the Plant Based Doctor who recommends this (or an explanation of why that's my target) If I haven't listed the nutrient it means I left it at the default Cronometer setting because I have found the default to be in line with the Plant Based Doctors recommendations.
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Vitamins
B12 - 50 mcg - include a reliable source of vitamin B12 in your diet. You can easily meet your vitamin B12 needs with a daily supplement or fortified foods, such as vitamin B12-fortified breakfast cereals, plant milks, and nutritional yeast.
D - Targets not useful. I leave at default or set to 0. Vitamin D is made by your body when exposed to the sun. Blood work is essential to know if you need an alternative source of D. Otherwise 600 IU to 2,000 IU supplemental vitamin D is the general recommendation.
K - 100mcg
Minerals
Calcium - 525mg minimum - OR 600 mg
Iodine - 150mcg
Iron - 1 - 2 mg however dietary Targets are not useful. Menstruating women should be aware of signs of anemia and have blood work every few years to determine Iron status. Men should be screened for iron overload disease rather than deficiency.
Potassium - 4700 mg
Sodium - 1500 mg Max
Carbohydrates
Fiber - 40g
Added Sugar - 0g. This is my personal choice as I aim to avoid any processed sugar in my diet.
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Lipids
Omega 3 -250mcg OR Women 1.1 g Men 1.6 g
Omega 6 - Should be no more than 4 times your Omega 3 intake. The ratio between the 3:6 is the important part.
Cholesterol - 0g - no animal products means no Cholesterol
Saturated Fat - 0g
Protein - An average woman needs about 46 grams of protein per day; the average man about 56. This works out to about 10% of calories or 0.8g of protein per kilogram of lean body mass.
