1. RDA Defined by Scientists
RDA stands for Recommended Daily Allowance and it deals with the amount of vitamins and minerals that people need to get from their food. A group of scientists meets periodically to define the RDA and to review the minimum amount of vitamins and minerals that the body needs to avoid exhibiting signs of deficiency.
2. Eating Your Way There
The normal diet consists of the 5 food groups as defined by the food pyramid and consists of 1600 to 2800 calories per day. This should provide the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals for a normal person. This can depend greatly on what your food choices are from the pyramid. For smaller framed people, a diet that includes 2800 calories per day would definitely be a bad choice. Consuming that many calories would most likely add weight and weaken your health.
3. Deficiencies Lead to Disease
The RDA is set to a level to avoid seeing any signs of deficiency of a vitamin or mineral. This is not necessarily a level that allows a body to flourish and reach its optimum of health. The values set are much lower than what is required to support the immune system and avoid illness. Diseases such as scurvy (vitamin C deficiency), rickets (vitamin D deficiency) and anemia (iron deficiency) are examples of what happens when levels of specific vitamins and minerals are too low.
4. Pop More Vitamins
A survey of doctors and dieticians indicates that even though they agree with the RDA concept, they themselves consume additional vitamins and minerals in their own lives. They have realized the RDA is either set too low or they need a higher amount of some vitamins or minerals to combat a personal condition or illness. They take it upon themselves to know that their body needs more than the average person. Perhaps the most common vitamin believed to be needed in much higher doses than the RDA is vitamin C. Linus Pauling, Nobel Laureate, claimed that excesses of vitamin C could cure the common cold. Any excess above what the body needs will simply pass out in the urine, so there are no hazards to taking more of it and letting the body decide how much it needs.
5. Get the Most Out of Your Supplements
A vast majority of people take vitamin and mineral supplements, but are they getting the most bang for their buck? Many vitamins and minerals taken in pill form leave the body partially un-dissolved. To get the best results, use the gelatin caps, liquid caps, liquids and edibles that present supplements to the body in a form that can rapidly be absorbed and metabolized.
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