Orthomolecular Doctors Urge U.S. Government to Raise Nutritional RDAs to Optimum Levels

Thursday, May 08, 2008 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: nutrition, health news, Natural News

(NaturalNews) The Independent Vitamin Safety Review Panel has urged world governments to raise the recommended daily intakes of a variety of key nutrients, saying that the current levels are too low.

"Government-sponsored nutrient recommendations ... are not keeping pace with recent progress in nutrition research," the panel said. "While current official recommendations for vitamin A, iron, calcium, and some other nutrients are generally adequate, the public has been asked to consume far too little of many other key nutrients. Inadequate intake, and inadequate standards to judge intake, have resulted in widespread nutrient inadequacy, chronic disease, and an undernourished but overweight population."

The panel recommended increasing the recommended daily intake of vitamins B-1, B-2, B-6 and zinc to 25 mg, vitamin B-3 to 300 mg , B-12 to 500 micrograms, folic acid to 2 milligrams, vitamin C to 2,000 mg, vitamin D3 to 1,500 IU, vitamin E to 200 IU, magnesium to 500 mg, selenium to 200 micrograms and chromium to 200 micrograms.

"In the past, over-conservative government-sponsored standards have encouraged dietary complacency," the panel said. "People have been led to believe that they can get all the nutrients they need from a 'balanced diet' of processed foods. That is not true. For adequate vitamin and mineral intake, a diet of unprocessed, whole foods, along with the intelligent use of nutritional supplements, is more than just a good idea: it is essential."

Vitamin C is common in fruits and vegetables. B-vitamins are found in high quantities in potatoes, bananas, lentils, chili peppers and foods containing or fermented with yeast. Folic acid is found in green leafy vegetables, dried legumes and sunflower seeds. Vitamin E is abundant in vegetable oils and nuts. The micronutrients selenium and chromium are usually found in nuts, meats and whole grains. Zinc is found in beans, nuts and seeds, and meats, while magnesium is common in green vegetables. Many foods are fortified with B vitamins, folic acid and vitamin E.