Daily Vitamin Requirements

Daily vitamin requirements are known as the RDA's, which is an acronym that stands for "Recommended Daily Allowances." The RDA's are determined by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council.

You will find conflicting opinions about the RDA's. Some health experts will claim that taking in the recommended daily allowances will only prevent signs of vitamin deficiencies, and not promote optimal health. These people, therefore, claim you need to take in more (sometimes much more) than the recommended daily allowances.

Others, however, claim that you get vitamins from food anyway, so you don't need to take any supplements. Moreover, some of these health experts point to studies that show taking large amounts (what are called mega doses) of vitamins in the form of supplements can even be harmful to your health.

So, who's right?

Well, the truth, as usual, lies somewhere inbetween.

Let us explain.

First, it is true that taking too much of the daily vitamin requirements can be harmful. Especially the fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin E and A can lead to side effects and toxicity, because they are stored in the adipose (fat) tissues and cannot be excreted readily by the body.

Even the water soluble -- easily excretable -- vitamins, such as Vitamin C, have been reported to have adverse side effects if taken in mega doses, such as the formation of kidney stones.

On the other hand, as we all know, vitamins are crucial to optimal health, so we definitely need them. And the fact of the matter is that most people don't even take in the RDA's from food sources. There are several reasons for this.

The first reason many people, especially in the Western World, don't get their daily vitamin requirements is that the soil in which crops are now grown is dramatically different than it was a few generations ago.

Due to modern farming methods, the soil has been largely depleted of vitamins and minerals crucial to our health. So, unless you eat organic produce all the time (and most people don't) you may be not be getting your daily vitamin requirements (or mineral requirements).

The Bottomline on Daily Vitamin Requirements

At the same time, we think many people in the Western world are not getting the amount they need, and therefore should consider supplementation, as long as they are using a high quality supplement that contains these crucial vitamins and minerals but not megadoses of them.

Moreover, many people don't know it, but there are very powerful nutrients that can markedly improve one's health that are not vitamins and minerals. These include herbal extracts, enzymes, and speciality nutrients such as Lutein, Zeaxanthin, CoQ10, Resveratrol, and many many more.

Featured Supplement Product

Total Balance contains vitamins, minerals, but also herbal extracts, amino acids, active enzymes, immune enhancers, and other natural supplements -- it helps us get our daily vitamin requirements, without the risk of overdosing.