About 15 percent of American families have been unable to find the right foods to adequately maintain good nutrition, according to the USDA Dietary Guidelines, 2010. Vitamin supplements may help to ensure that adequate nutrition is available to everyone. The Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, set minimum vitamin intake levels that meet the dietary needs of healthy individuals. They are called RDAs, or recommended dietary allowances.
B Vitamins
The family of B vitamins encompasses numerous micronutrients that all play roles in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins to make energy. They are also needed to make red blood cells. There are eight B vitamins and they include, with their daily RDA for adults: biotin, 30 mcg; folic acid, 400 mcg; niacin, 14 to 16 mg; pantothenic acid, 5 mg; riboflavin, 1.1 to 1.3 mg; thiamine, 1.1 to 1.2 mg; vitamin B-6, 1.3 to 1.7 mg; and vitamin B-12, 2.4 mcg.
Vitamin A, C and E
Vitamin A is necessary for a strong immune system, bone growth, various cell functions and reproduction. Vitamin C plays a vital role in the making of collagen, a compound that acts as a structural foundation for bones, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels. Vitamin E is an all-encompassing term for eight related antioxidants. Vitamin A and C are also antioxidants. Antioxidants protect your cells and neutralize the free radicals that are produced from the breakdown of foods in your body and from environmental exposure to certain harmful elements such as smoke and UV rays. The daily RDA for adults for vitamin A is 3,000 IU; for vitamin C, 75 to 90 mg; and for vitamin E, it is 22.5 IU.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is crucial in balancing calcium and potassium in your body. It is also needed for strong bones and teeth. Osteoporosis is linked to a deficiency of vitamin D, as is prostate cancer and high blood pressure, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Insufficient vitamin D may also cause rickets, muscle weakness and pain and osteomalacia. The daily RDA for vitamin D for adults is set at 600 IU. A tolerable upper intake level for vitamin D is 4,000 IU.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is absolutely instrumental in the clotting of your blood. Through a complex serious of chemical sequences, vitamin K and calcium is responsble for the seven vitamin K-dependent clotting factors, or proteins, necessary in the coagulation cascade that allows you to mend when you are bleeding. An RDA does not exist for vitamin K due to inadequate information to set a standard. Therefore, the Food and Nutrition Board set an adequate intake, AI, based on observations and experimental evidence. The daily AI for vitamin K is 90 to 120 mcg.
Member Comments