Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) Chart for download

[scottie2]

I thought I would post this after seeing a question about "what is a good multi-vitamin?" I had wondered that myself when originally searching for a multi-vitamin and decided if I was to come up with a good answer, I would have to first look at at least how much vitamins and minerals I should be consuming.

You would think we would have established these base guidelines long, long ago, and as far as we have come nutrition wise, it should be easy to find this out. Well, unfortunately, that is not the case. Ongoing research and evaluation is being conducted in the Americas, and this information is not standard and in one place.

The information I have posted here comes from multiple studies, specifically, separate nutiritional studies for each vitamin. It is not posted in any one place that I was ever able to find (if you know where, please enlighten me). So I have compiled this spreadsheet.

NOTE: After downloading the file, you will have to change its extension to .xls from .doc as it is an Excel document, which this board does not accept as an upload. I have included at the bottom what the GNC MegaMen multivitamin includes for comparison (this is the vitamin I use and trust)

The RDA, or Recommended Dietary Allowance, is defined as “the average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of nearly all healthy individuals in a group.” This means that RDA amounts of vitamins and minerals are the standard amounts that healthy people need to consume each day to prevent dietary deficiencies.

NOTE: As I see that most people like to debate everything that is posted here, I would like to stipulate right now that these RDAs were jointly developed by the US and Canada as *standard amounts to consume each day to prevent dietary deficiencies*. This post was not intended as a means to say "this is the amount of vitamins and minerals _you_ should be consuming as a bodybuilder each day" Take it for what it is; just that.

A good example is vitamin C. The RDA for this hard working vitamin is the level of vitamin C you need to prevent scurvy, not necessarily the amount you need for superior health.

You could use this as a baseline to see how well your multivitamin is covering off the bases. However, what is printed on the label of your multivitamin may not necessarily what is in it, but that is a topic for another thread...

*** If you have corrections / additions to this please PM me with the information and a link to the source of your information and should it prove valid, I will update the chart ***