The measurement of a vitamin may be listed as an international unit, a metric unit or a percentage of the daily requirement. When you buy vitamins, look on the label to learn about the measurement of vitamins in the product. Vitamin measurements expressed in metric weight typically use milligrams, mg, or micrograms, abbreviated as mcg and µg. Consult your doctor before adding vitamins to your daily regimen to avoid adverse reactions with medications or health conditions.
International Units
Vitamins A, C, D and E are measured in International Units, IU. When you see the letters "IU," it means an international agreement exists regarding the biological effect of 1 IU of the vitamin. This is important because the vitamins vary in activity depending on the amount. For example, A 1 UI dose for vitamin A is 0.3 mcg; vitamin C is 50 mcg; and vitamin D is 25 nanograms.
Percent Daily Value
The Food and Drug Administration requires the percent daily value, %DV, on labels to help consumers determine the amount vitamins and nutrients in a serving of food. The %DV tells you the percentage of a vitamin one serving of food contains, in reference to the vitamins daily value, if you eat a 2,000-calorie diet. A serving of food containing 5 percent or less of a vitamin is low that vitamin. A serving containing 20 percent of more of a vitamin is high in that vitamin. The percent daily values for some vitamins are vitamin A, 5,000 I.U.; vitamin C, 60 mg; vitamin D, 400 I.U.; vitamin e, 30 I.U.; vitamin K, 80 mcg; and vitamin B-6, 2 mg.
Recommended Dietary Allowance
It's common to refer to the recommended dietary allowance as RDA. The RDA tells you the average dietary intake of a vitamin healthy people need to meet 97 to 98 percent of their nutritional needs.
Adequate Intake
The acronym for adequate intake is "AI." The UDSA uses AI to measure the amount of a vitamin you should eat when it's not possible to determine an RDA.
Tolerable Upper Intake Level
The USDA uses the tolerable upper intake level of a vitamin to indicate the highest amount you can take in one day that is likely to pose no toxic risk in almost all people. The abbreviation appears as "UL."
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