FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, October 30, 2007

Doctors Say, Raise the RDAs Now

(OMNS October 30, 2007) The US Recommended Daily Allowance/Dietary Reference Intakes are too low and most should be raised immediately, says an independent panel of physicians, academics and researchers. In a statement this week, the Independent Vitamin Safety Review Panel said: “Government-sponsored nutrient recommendations, such as the US RDA/DRIs, are not keeping pace with recent progress in nutrition research. 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.” Citing a large number of physician reports and clinical studies, the IVSRP called for substantial increases in daily intake of the B-vitamins, vitamins C, D and E, and the minerals selenium, zinc, magnesium and chromium. “Raising the RDA/DRI will save lives and improve health,” the Panel said. “Clinical and sub-clinical nutrient deficiencies are among the main causes of our society’s greatest healthcare problems. Cancer, cardiovascular disease, mental illness, and other diseases are caused or aggravated by poor nutrient intake. The good news is that scientific evidence shows that adequately high consumption of nutrients helps prevent these diseases.”

Specifically, the IVSRP called for a new standard, an Optimum Health Requirement, recommending daily adult consumption of nutrients in the following higher quantities:

Vitamins

B-1 Thiamine: 25 mg
B-2 Riboflavin: 25 mg
B-3 Niacinamide: 300 mg
B-6 Pyridoxine: 25 mg
Folic acid: 2,000 mcg
B-12 Cobalamin: 500 mcg
C: 2,000 mg
D3: 1,500 IU
E as natural mixed tocopherols: 200 IU

Minerals

Zinc: 25 mg
Magnesium: 500 mg
Selenium: 200 mcg
Chromium: 200 mcg

The Panel concluded by stating: "In the past, over-conservative government-sponsored standards have encouraged dietary complacency. 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."

Independent Vitamin Safety Review Panelists are:

Abram Hoffer, MD
Michael Janson, MD
Thomas Levy, MD, JD
Erik Paterson, MD
Woody R. McGinnis, MD
Allan N. Spreen, MD
Bo H. Jonsson, MD, PhD
Chris M. Reading, MD
Bradford Weeks, MD
Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, MD
Jerry Green, MD
Stephen Faulkner, MD
Klaus Wenzel, MD
Richard Huemer, MD
Peter H. Lauda, M.D.
Jonathan Prousky, ND
Michael Friedman, ND
William B. Grant, PhD
Harold Foster, PhD
H. H. Nehrlich, PhD
Steve Hickey, PhD
Gert E. Schuitemaker, PhD
Andrew W. Saul, PhD, Chair

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Linus Pauling defined orthomolecular medicine as "the treatment of disease by the provision of the optimum molecular environment, especially the optimum concentrations of substances normally present in the human body." Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D., Editor and contact person. Email: omns@orthomolecular.org