Vitamin/Mineral Supplement Comparison
Purpose
To compare the amount of vitamins and minerals in a supplement to your own personal DRI/RDA recommendations. This activity will help you evaluate a good vs. potentially dangerous supplement. Here you will compare a supplement with your own personal DRIs to assess its benefits and risks.
Background
According to the Center for Disease Control, about 58% of American adults take dietary supplements (2017-2018 data). The 3 most common supplements used by Americans are multivitamin-mineral supplements, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acid products (CDC). While some supplements can fill nutrient gaps, the dose matters. High amounts of some nutrients can be toxic. Consumers should be aware that supplement manufacturers do not have to show a regulatory agency that the supplements are safe or effective before selling them to the public. May people take supplements to reduce risk for chronic diseases. However, an analysis of data from randomized trails found that vitamin, mineral, and fish oil supplements do not reduce chronic disease risk for healthy people (Zhang et al., BMJ 2020)Links to an external site.. https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m2511
In other words, many of the supplements we take are not supporting heath, yet we still take them. To choose a supplement with safe and beneficial doses of nutrients, look for one that has no more than 100% of the Daily Values for nutrients listed on the Nutrition Facts label. Stay under the Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs) for nutrients to avoid toxicity, unless a doctor prescribes more for you as medical therapy.
Directions
- Select a supplement you are currently taking or look at a label in the grocery store. Your supplement MUST contain 8 or more vitamins and/or minerals.
- Complete the Vitamin/Mineral Comparison worksheet Download Vitamin/Mineral Comparison worksheet. Record the nutrient profile of the supplement and then compare the nutrient levels with your personal DRIs. The charts on the front cover of your text will provide all your DRIs.
- Also, for many supplements you will need to convert IU to mg or ug (mcg) in order to compare them. To help you with the calculations use these conversions:
Vitamin A: 1 IU = 0.3 mcg (10,000 IU X 0.3 = 3000 mcg or 3000 RAE
Vitamin D: 1 IU = 0.025 mcg (400 IU X 0.025 = 10 mcg)
Vitamin E: 1 IU = 0.67 mg eg. 30 IU x 0.67 = 20 mg (natural vitamin E)
1 IU = 0.45 mg 30 IU x 0.45 = 13.5 mg (synthetic vitamin E) - Submit your worksheet.