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Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) are the nutrient intake recommendations which have been established by governments and health organisations in order to ensure that populations meet their nutritional needs. Originally created to prevent deficiencies, whilst RDAs do provide a base-level target for the public, over time our understanding of nutrition has changed, and questions have arisen about RDAs’ relevance for optimising health. This article will break down RDAs, their strengths, and potential limitations, as well as discuss whether you can meet your RDAs with diet alone. It’ll also discuss the efficacy of RDAs, and how you can use them to properly optimise your health and lifestyle.
The RDAs provide guidance for the minimum intake of vitamins and minerals to prevent deficiencies and maintain a normal health standard. In many cases, the RDAs we see on food labels are recommendations for just one individual though. Realistically, they should be individualised at least by age and gender. What is important to understand though, is that our requirements of vitamins are highly individual, and everyone’s RDAs are likely to be different. All of our physiological requirements are different, and so this should be reflected in RDAs.
Here are the RDAs as of 2020. Please bear in mind that these are general government guidelines which do not account for variability in individuals, deficiencies, or specific health conditions:
Whilst RDAs do not account for the individual, they have played a strong role in maintaining and improving health. Let’s break down some of their main benefits.
RDAs have been successful in reducing the prevalence of diseases caused by nutrient deficiencies in populations, such as scurvy, caused by a vitamin C deficiency, and rickets, caused by a vitamin D deficiency.
RDAs provide a clear benchmark target for food manufacturers and health professionals in designing nutrition and diet plans, and labelling systems for foods to meet minimum nutritional requirements.
RDAs have done well to raise awareness of the importance of meeting basic nutrient requirements through diet. They clearly show the difference between balanced diet with whole foods and low nutrient, ultra processed foods, providing a degree of education for general populations.
As we’ve briefly discussed, whilst RDAs can provide a base target for the general population, there are limitations to them.
The RDAs are designed for the average person and do not account for differences on the individual level, with different nutrition needs based on things such as genetics, activity level or metabolism.
Whilst RDAs focus on preventing deficiencies, they do not address the most optimal nutrient levels for long-term health, disease prevention or maximising physical and mental performance.
Whilst our understanding of nutritional science is constantly being updated, the guideline RDAs often have a delay to incorporate newer findings based on the latest research. This causes a gap between what the science says and the guidelines that the general population is being presented.
It is in theory possible to meet the RDAs through a well balanced diet, however there are a number of factors that can make it difficult for individuals.
People on calorie restricted diets may just simply be not eating enough food in order to meet their micronutrient needs. Similarly, those with an active lifestyle, pro athletes, or just regular gym goers can have higher requirements for certain vitamins such as magnesium and B12, making it more difficult to achieve the actual needs.
Furthermore, people on dietary restrictions such as vegans, vegetarians, keto or carnivore can miss our on key nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D or iron, depending on the diet. Adding to this, studies are suggesting tha modern farming has reduced the nutrient density of whole foods compared to decades ago, making it harder to meet the recommended daily allowances through diet alone.
Whilst it is possible to meet RDAs through diet, supplementing with a multivitamin can fill the gaps that you may have in your nutrition intake. If you live in a location with limited sunlight exposure, supplementing with a Vitamin D Spray can also be useful. If you do not eat much fatty fish, then supplementing with an Omega 3 Fish Oil can be helpful.
Whilst the RDAs do give you a baseline, you should consider them as a minimum requirement as a target to reach for. There are a number of ways in which you can use RDAs alongside tracking your diet via apps like MyFitnessPal to track what your micronutrient intake is like. From this data, you can identify gaps and adjust your diet in real time to meet the minimum RDAs.
Furthermore, if you want more data, you can get bloodwork done in order to show what deficiencies or imbalances you might have. From here, you can again, change your diet or supplement with consultation from a healthcare professional to determine your doses and fill the gaps revealed by bloodwork.
Bear in mind that as we’ve discussed, your lifestyle can massively affect your individual needs beyond the standardised RDAs. If you’re an athlete, a pregnant woman or have any specific health conditions we’d recommend working with a nutritionist or healthcare professional to adapt your intake to your lifestyle.
RDA is now commonly replaced by NRV (Nutrient Reference Value) in many regions, particularly in the European Union (EU). NRVs are similar to RDAs but are a standardised value used for food labeling purposes to guide consumers on the daily amount of a nutrient that is considered sufficient for the majority of the population.
In this article we’ve broken down everything regarding the nutritional recommended daily allowances. Whilst RDAs may be a sufficient tool for the general population, you should understand that they are by no means a one-size-fits-all solution for individuals. You should view them as a starting point, a minimum target for the average person. By taking more proactive steps such as tracking your micronutrient intake, getting bloodwork and working with a qualified nutritionist, you can take the steps to not just get to the bare minimum requirement, but look to optimise your long-term health.
