Vitamins and minerals are essential for your health and disease prevention. You need certain amounts of each vitamin and mineral daily from food and dietary supplements to fulfill your nutritional requirements. Dosages of supplements often exceed recommended daily allowances for nutrients. Physicians may prescribe vitamins and minerals to treat particular conditions in dosages that differ from the recommended daily intake. Consult your doctor about your diet and supplements.
Vitamin B-12
Vitamin B-12 is essential for neurological function and production of DNA and red blood cells, yet you need only minute amounts from your diet or supplements. The recommended daily allowance for vitamin B-12 is 2.4 mcg for adults ages 19 years and older, 2.6 mcg for pregnant females and 2.8 mcg for breastfeeding females. Vitamin B-12 is found only in animal products. Physicians often recommend that vegetarians who do not eat animal products and people older than 50 with malabsorption problems take vitamin B-12 supplements and consume fortified foods to increase intake of this nutrient.
Vitamin D and Calcium
Vitamin D and calcium help you sustain your bone health and prevent osteoporosis. The Institute of Medicine Food and Nutrition Board, the organization that establishes the dietary reference intakes for nutrients, recommends 600 IU of vitamin D per day for adults up to the age of 70 and 800 IU for adults over the age of 70 and a daily range of 700 to 1300 mg of calcium, depending on your sex and age. Women ages 19 to 50 and men ages 19 to 71 require 1,000 mg of calcium per day, whereas women ages 51 and older and men ages 71 and older require no more than 1,200 mg of calcium per day. Taking excessive vitamin D can cause liver and kidney toxicity, whereas excess calcium from supplements can increase your risk of kidney stones.
Potassium
Potassium is vital to help maintain water balance in your body. Potassium is also essential for the proper function of your heart and skeletal and smooth muscles. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables enables you to meet your dietary needs. Sweating, diarrhea and vomiting can cause you to lose potassium from your body. The recommended daily intake of potassium for all adults, including pregnant and nursing women, is 2,000 mg. However, taking certain medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, for pain and beta blockers for blood pressure, can cause changes in your blood levels of potassium and dietary requirements for this nutrient.
Iron
Iron is part of hemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen from your lungs to your cells. A deficiency of iron can cause anemia, a lack of red blood cells. The recommended daily allowance for iron is 8 mg for adult males 19 years and older and adult females ages 51 and older, 18 mg for females ages 19 to 50 and 27 mg for pregnant females.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin); June 1, 2009
- National Academy of Sciences: IOM Report Sets New Dietary Intake Levels for Calcium and Vitamin D to Maintain Health and Avoid Risks Associated with Excess; November 30, 2010
- Colorado State University Extension: Potassium and Health; J. Anderson, et al.; August 2008
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Potassium; 2011
- Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University: Iron; M. Wessling-Resnick; August 2009
Member Comments