Vitamins

Vitamins: Recommendations

Recommended dietary allowances (RDAs), are defined as the levels of intake of essential nutrients that, on the basis of scientific knowledge, the Food and Nutrition Board judges to be adequate to meet the known nutritional needs of practically all healthy people.

The best way to get the daily requirement of essential vitamins is to eat a balanced diet that contains a variety of foods from the food guide pyramid.

Specific recommendations for each vitamin depend on age, gender, and other factors (such as pregnancy). The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers a PDF file that lists these recommendations.

Note: Many people think that if some is good, a lot is better. This is not always the case, and high doses of certain vitamins are actually toxic. Read about the specific vitamins and check with your health care provider if you are unsure about how much to take -- and how much may be too much.