Recommended Daily Allowance(RDA) vs. Optimal Daily Allowance(ODA)

There is a tremendous difference between what our bodies need to function and what they perform effectively with.  The recommended daily allowance gives a good estimate of what the average body needs to survive without major complications.  The Optimal Daily Allowance allows you to optimize and be truly healthy.  By giving your body plenty of valuable resources in the form of vitamins and minerals, it is able to work harder for you.

Borrowed from http://www.fibromyalgiacfsstore.com

This chart is incredibly useful.  I frequently refer to it when I look at nutrition labels.  We need to focus on the mass of the nutrients we are taking in(mg, mcg, g etc). The percentage next to it, like the vitamin A at the bottom of this label, is unimportant unless you are following a 2000 calorie diet.

Borrowed from http://3.bp.blogspot.com

Protein, sugar, and sodium, as well as the rest, are listed with a gram amount at the end.  That is what should be focused on.  Comparing it to the ODA table we can understand how much we are really getting.  Unfortunately, most labels do not list the vitamins in grams, but if you check this site you can find the values.  The table does not list macro-molecules like fat, protein, and carbs because it varies greatly between individuals.  In a future post I will discuss a few ways to get a general idea of how many calories you should eat.  One major thing to keep in mind - more is not always better and there can easily be too much of a good thing.  Vitamins CAN be overdosed on, but only through supplementation or things like eating organ meats(liver, stomach, intestines etc).  You can't overdose on Vitamin C by eating something like 12 red bell peppers.

1 http://www.fibromyalgiacfsstore.com
2 http://www.drlam.com/supplements/mensoda.asp