According to Oregon State University, the RDA or recommended daily allowance is the average amount of nutrients needed by healthy individuals in a specific life stage and gender group. This simply means if you want to be healthy, you need to consume at least the RDA of the essential vitamins and minerals each day.
Essential Vitamins and Minerals
Your body needs certain vitamins and minerals each day that it is not able to make on its own. These are known as the essential vitamins and minerals. They include vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B vitamins -- thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folate. The essential minerals include macro-minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride and sulfur. You also need a small amount of trace minerals such as iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride and selenium.
Vitamin Daily Recommendations
The RDA levels for the essential vitamins are higher for men than they are for women. For some vitamins, the recommended daily intake is also referred to as the adequate intake or AI. The current recommendations include 700 to 900 mcg of vitamin A, 75 to 90 mg of vitamin C, 600 to 800 international units of vitamin D, 15 mg of vitamin E, and 90 to 120 mcgg of vitamin K. The recommended intake of the B vitamins is 1.0 to 1.2 mg of thiamine, 1.0 to 1.3 mg of riboflavin, 14 to 16 mg of niacin, 5 mg of pantothenic acid, 30 mcg of biotin, 1.2 to 1.7 mg of B-6, 2.4 mcg of B-12, and 400 mcg of folate.
Mineral Daily Recommendations
The RDA for the essential minerals includes 1,000 mg of calcium, 700 mg of phosphorus, 310 to 420 mg of magnesium, 1.2 to 1.5 g of sodium, 4,700 mg of potassium, and 3 to 3.8 g of chloride. The RDA for the trace minerals is 8 to 18 mg of iron, 1.8 to 2.3 mg of manganese, 900 mcg of copper, 150 mcg of iodine, 8 to 11 mg of zinc, 3.0 to 4.0 mg of fluoride, and 55 mcg of selenium. Sulfur and cobalt do not have RDA values because you get cobalt with B-12 and you need only a trace of sulfur. Iron is the only mineral women require more of than men.
Considerations
It can be difficult to keep track of your daily intake of vitamins and minerals. An easy way to ensure you get enough is to eat a balanced diet that consists of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish and eggs, and some dairy products. These foods are natural sources of vitamins and minerals. To ensure you do not miss any of the requirements, you can also add a daily multivitamin that includes the essential minerals.
Member Comments