Do you suspect that the RDAs for most vitamins and minerals are too low or too high or basically correct?

Question

I mean in general?

Answer 1

I suspect they are about right.

One thing I hate to hear is people advising huge intakes of vitamins, too much will do one of two things

1 Go through your body and end up down the pan as they body cannot absorb them, a complete waste of money.

OR

2 Be stored by the body in the fat (this only applies to fat soluble vitamins) where they can cause toxic reaction if consistently high doses are taken.

So please stick to the dose advised on the product packaging, more is not always better!!!

Answer 2

In general they are correct. A lot of science and clinical trials are behind the creation of RDAs!

Adding to my earlier answer, I disagree with people who think we need to be far exceeding the RDAs. For vitamins like vitamin C, we only use what we need, and it has been shown that what adults need is pretty close to their RDA (which is an average, so there is some wiggle room). Once you start supplementing with way over the RDA for water soluble vitamins you are really just creating expensive urine, since it is just lost there anyways. Of course vitamin and supplement companies are going to push vitamins!

Answer 3

They are good for basic minimal health (survival), but not optimal health. That's the biggest misunderstanding when people wonder why something has more than 100% of the RDA (especially the B Vitamins, which are typically several times the RDA). For example, 60 mg of Vitamin C is good for basic health and to help prevent Scurvy... but for optimal health, it's more common to have 500-1,000 mg of Vitamin C daily (and some take several times that much based on their body chemistry and needs).

Answer 4

The RDA's were made in the 1940's for Joe Average, age 25, with no health complications, and they were intended only to prevent deficiency diseases such as scurvy.  They didn't take into account things like lifestyle, family history, weight, s*x, etc.

I think they are very low for todays average person.  No one system can tell you exactly what you need and how much of it you need.  You need to look at yourself and your own diet to figure that out.  If you eat tons of processed things, then just 100% of something isn't really going to do diddly.

Be smart obviously, don't do mega doses "just in case."  That wont be helpful either.  Learn more about vitamins and minerals and the parts they play in nutrition and health.  And know that whole vitamins from a food source are much better and easily absorbable than a single synthetic ingredient in a bottle.

Answer 5

Definitively too low for most of them,(except the toxic variety).

Answer 6

In general they are correct.  I have been impressed with the emerging evidence that suggests there should be a higher recommended level of Vitamin D, however.

Answer 7

Since they have been amended over time when research has indicated that changes were needed, I suspect they are pretty close to correct based on what we know right now.