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How it works

Co-factor & interaction reality

Nutrients don't act alone. These are the interaction models Day Score computes against your edited day.

🩸Meal-resolved iron
Per meal: heme = Σ(iron × heme fraction), absorbed ~25% (× pregnancy heme factor from T2). Non-heme = remainder at 5% base × that meal's vitamin C × pregnancy non-heme factor (×1.5 T2, ×2 T3 vs T1; hepcidin-suppressed uptake). Calcium from food does not reduce non-heme uptake. Summed to a day total and compared against the trimester absorbed-iron requirement (0.8 / 4.4 / 6.0 mg for T1/T2/T3).

Sources

Maternal hepcidin falls from the second trimester
In healthy pregnancies, maternal hepcidin is suppressed in the second and third trimesters, increasing dietary iron absorption and mobilisation from stores.
Fractional absorption rises from T2 to T3
Stable-isotope studies: mean fractional absorption ~9% at T2 (weeks ~14–16) rising to ~20% by T3 (weeks ~32–35)—a 2.2-fold increase.
How the dashboard models pregnancy uptake
Engine applies ×1.5 non-heme (T2) and ×2.0 (T3) vs T1, with modest heme uplift—anchored to the isotope and hepcidin literature, not a clinical prescription.
Food calcium does not blunt non-heme iron
Whole-diet trials show milk and calcium-rich meals do not meaningfully reduce non-heme iron absorption at normal food intakes; pregnancy calcium RCTs likewise show no impact on iron status.
Vitamin C enhances non-heme iron in the same meal
Ascorbic acid dose-dependently increases non-heme iron absorption; the engine boosts non-heme uptake with same-meal vitamin C (up to ×2.5 effective).
Trimester absorbed-iron requirements
Absorbed-iron targets (0.8 / 4.4 / 6.0 mg/day T1/T2/T3) follow Hallberg/Bothwell modelling cited by DRI committees—distinct from the 27 mg dietary RDA.
🅰Retinol ceiling
Only <i>preformed</i> retinol counts toward the 3000 mcg teratogen ceiling — beta-carotene is excluded. The ceiling is constant across pregnancy; organ meats are the dominant lever.
🦴Vitamin K split
Total K is separated into K1 (clotting), food MK-4 (short half-life, crosses to the fetus) and supplement MK-7 (3-day half-life, maternal status) — read straight from the source data, not derived by ratio.
🥛Calcium routing
Absorbed calcium is directed to bone by vitamin D, K2 and magnesium. It does not meaningfully block non-heme iron when eaten as food within a normal day.

Sources

Food calcium does not blunt non-heme iron
Whole-diet trials show milk and calcium-rich meals do not meaningfully reduce non-heme iron absorption at normal food intakes; pregnancy calcium RCTs likewise show no impact on iron status.
🐟PUFA lens
Polyunsaturated fat shown as % of energy and omega-3 fraction. Whole-food PUFA (fish, yolk, oats) behaves very differently from oxidised seed oils — this is fat quality, not just quantity.
⚖Source-aware limits
Some upper limits apply only to a source: magnesium's 350 mg UL is supplemental-only; folate's 1000 mcg UL is for synthetic folic acid, which 5-MTHF and food folate don't contribute.
🥩Meal-resolved zinc
Per meal: zinc and phytate are converted to a molar ratio (mg ÷ molecular weight). Absorption fraction follows the IZiNCG/WHO bioavailability bands — ~50% when phytate:zinc is low, tapering to ~15% when it's high — smoothly interpolated between those bands rather than stepping abruptly. Summed to a day total and compared against an absorbed-zinc target (the gross RDA × the ~27% absorption fraction the RDA itself already assumes for a moderate-phytate diet).

Sources

Zinc absorption falls as phytate:zinc molar ratio rises
IZiNCG/WHO bioavailability classes by phytate:zinc molar ratio: <5 ~50% absorption ("high"), 5-15 ~30% ("moderate"), >15 ~15% ("low") — formalised in a mathematical model of zinc absorption vs dietary zinc and phytate.
Absorbed-zinc target derives from the dietary RDA's own assumption
The IOM zinc RDA is itself a factorial estimate (physiological requirement ÷ an assumed absorption fraction for a moderate-bioavailability mixed diet, ~27%) — this engine's absorbed-zinc target is that same fraction of whichever gross target applies for the phase, so it automatically tracks any future correction to the gross target.
🌾Phytate vs. minerals
Phytic acid (IP6), concentrated in the bran/germ of grains, legumes and nuts, chelates zinc, iron and (more mildly) magnesium in the gut, blocking some of their absorption. The effect is dose-dependent: more phytate relative to the mineral means a larger blocked fraction. Vitamin C specifically counteracts phytate's effect on iron (not zinc) by forming an absorbable iron-ascorbate complex.

Sources

Phytate blocks non-heme iron; vitamin C counteracts it
Phytate inhibits non-heme iron absorption dose-dependently — a classic trial found 2 mg phytate-phosphorus inhibited absorption 18%, 25 mg inhibited 64%, 250 mg inhibited 82%. Ascorbic acid significantly counteracts this inhibition.
Zinc absorption falls as phytate:zinc molar ratio rises
IZiNCG/WHO bioavailability classes by phytate:zinc molar ratio: <5 ~50% absorption ("high"), 5-15 ~30% ("moderate"), >15 ~15% ("low") — formalised in a mathematical model of zinc absorption vs dietary zinc and phytate.
Magnesium: a real but gentler phytate effect
Phytate binds magnesium too, but the literature lacks zinc's crisp molar-ratio absorption bands, and magnesium's typical dietary molar abundance is far higher than zinc's — so this stays a day-level advisory flag (high phytate load + magnesium below target) rather than a re-based absorbed target.
💧Soaking, sprouting & fermentation cut phytate
Phytate isn't fixed at a food's raw value — soaking, sprouting and especially fermentation activate phytase enzymes (the grain's own, or added via sourdough/lactic-acid bacteria) that break phytate down, freeing the minerals it was binding. This is why a soaked or fermented preparation of the same grain shows measurably higher absorbed iron, zinc and magnesium in this engine, not just 'easier to digest.'

Sources

Soaking (and porridge-cooking) substantially cuts oat phytate
Grinding and soaking reduces oat phytate by 72-77% (dehulled oats) to 88-94% (naked oats); hydrothermal treatment alone is far less effective (8-26%) without the soak step.
Sourdough fermentation cuts phytate more than yeast
Sourdough fermentation reduced whole-wheat bread phytate by 62% vs 38% for plain yeast fermentation, and raised soluble magnesium — lactic-acid bacteria acidify the dough, activating the grain's own phytase.
Alternative voices on grains and phytate
Outside the clinical literature, two widely-followed popular-nutrition educators frame this differently: Ray Peat's bioenergetic view minimises grains and legumes altogether for their seed anti-nutrients (rather than relying on preparation to mitigate them); Barbara O'Neill's naturopathic guidance is the more mainstream-adjacent 'soak before eating' position this engine's preparation variants quantify. Neither is peer-reviewed — included as a named, clearly distinct perspective, not as clinical evidence.

Vitamin D3 + K2: why both matter

D3 is activated by liver/kidney with magnesium as the cofactor — K2 does not activate D; it directs the calcium D helps absorb. K2 carboxylates osteocalcin (bone) and matrix-Gla protein (keeps calcium out of arteries). Food K2 is almost all MK-4 (short half-life, crosses to the fetus); supplemental MK-7 has a ~3-day half-life and sustains maternal status. The two are complementary.

MK-4 vs MK-7

MK-4 is made in and used by tissues quickly and reaches the fetus; MK-7 circulates for days and keeps blood levels steady. A protocol that supplies both covers the fetal and maternal sides. No vitamin K form has an established upper limit (caution only on warfarin).

The Ray Peat / PUFA lens

Peat argued polyunsaturated fats — especially seed-oil linoleic acid, but also excess fish oil — are prone to peroxidation and can suppress metabolism, so he favoured saturated fat and MUFA and kept PUFA low (often <4% of energy). The relevant fish PUFA is mostly omega-3 with established fetal-brain benefit, so the practical lever is fish frequency and freshness, not avoidance.

Calcium, B5 & B6

Calcium is highly bioavailable from dairy; pair with magnesium sources. Food calcium does not meaningfully block non-heme iron in whole-diet studies. Pantothenic acid (B5) and B6 occur across whole foods (meat, fish, dairy, grains, eggs), so a varied diet meets both; gentle cooking preserves them.

Units

One canonical unit per nutrient (mcg / mg / g / kcal, SI). Vitamin D is shown in mcg; a supplement's IU appears only inside its name label, never as a second computed unit.

Sources & disclaimer

USDA FoodData Central; McCance & Widdowson / PHE CoFID and OHID milk analysis; MEXT; manufacturer Supplement Facts panels; Schurgers & Vermeer menaquinone profiling; NIH ODS & IOM DRIs for targets, ULs and iron heme/non-heme bioavailability. Pregnancy iron-absorption claims and linked papers live in knowledge/evidence.jsonc + knowledge/references.jsonc (Fisher 2016, O'Brien 2022, Young 2012, etc.). Range midpoints are modelled; real values vary with portion, variety and preparation. Planning context, not medical advice — confirm supplement doses and screening (ferritin, 25-OH-D) with your healthcare provider.