| July
13, 2007
Daily allowances for vitamins need to be changed,
study says
By Alex McNally
13/07/2007 - New recommended daily allowances for micronutrients
need to be set if European regulation on the maximum levels of
vitamins and minerals is to be successful, a study has said.
The work by Dr Jaap Hanekamp and Professor Dr Aalt Bast, published
in Environmental Liability, concludes that current recommended
daily allowances (RDAs) are an inadequate tool to manage a "healthy
lifespan."
The EU's move to enforce a European-wide maximum and minimum
level for vitamins and minerals has already caused much controversy,
with member states varying radically on what they currently accept.
The research comes at a crucial time as the European Commission
is just months away from issuing an orientation paper, which is
thought to set out options for maximum and minimum levels.
In the article, "'New recommended daily allowances' benchmarking
healthy European micronutrient regulation" the researchers
say that improved RDA standards would mean that this regulation
could "actively contribute to health."
Dr Hanekamp and Proffessot Bast have already criticized the EC
in previous articles for being "overtly and unduly precautionary
in terms of its focus on risks of over-exposure to food supplements"
and call for new RDAs which will have a greater impact on long-term
health.
This article is the fifth in a series of publications that were
funded by a grant from the International Nutrition Company (INC).
The work also highlights the difficulty in setting an RDA level,
which is currently achieved by using an Estimated Average Requirement
(EAR). The EAR is then used to calculate the short-term dose response
for which the RDA is optimized.
"RDAs define the minimum required amount to maintain health
by avoiding a specific deficiency state, below which risks will
increase," the authors said.
The researchers said that RDAs should take into account the vitamins
ability to ward off more serious conditions, rather than being
based simply on day-to-day nutritional needs.
The authors wrote: "However,….we should envisage the
development of a different physiological perspective in which
the issue of optimum dosages not in relation to specific acute
deficiency states but to long term (chronic) disease states, can
be addressed."
They add that current scientific models used to determine these
levels also need to be updated, and note that little has changed
with RDA levels in 50 years.
In conclusion, the researchers said the setting of new RDAs for
micronutrients would give the opportunity to add other beneficial
compounds which are currently considered as non essential vitamins
or minerals.
"This is a quantum leap forward in the sense that the new
s approach may reveal that micronutrients hitherto regarded as
non-essential are in fact essential, and this will considerably
facilitate regulatory efforts in this field."
The setting of maximum levels is part of the 2002 Food Supplements
Directive.
Just last week a study by the Association of the European Self-Medication
Industry (AESGP) highlighted how different countries varied on
RDA levels. Belgium's maximum levels, for example, varied between
1.5 and three times the recommended daily allowance (RDA) with
a minimum level of 1.5 per cent RDA. On the other hand Denmark's
maximum levels varied from 1.8 to 1300 times RDA, and a higher
minimum level of 30 to 33 per cent of RDA.
Source: www.nutraingredients.com
Comments:
For more than a decade Dr. Rath has also maintained this
position, and is fighting against the pharmaceutical industry
as it invests billion of dollars in its promotion of drugs
instead of essential nutrients. The RDAs - as aptly said
in this article - are significantly less than what is required
for a healthy body, and are just enough to ward off the
symptoms of deficiency of individual nutrients. In most
instances, signs and symptoms of chronic deficiency are
not apparent enough to warrant intervention. However essential
nutrients, like Vitamin C, have many more functions in the
body, and their chronic deficiency triggers many chronic
diseases. Since the current RDA values were set many years
ago, there have been several studies proving the benefits
of additional nutrient supplementation clearly indicating
that current values are far less than what should ideally
be consumed. However, instead of increasing the doses of
essential nutrients, various profit-oriented industries
are more focused on scaring people with the so-called ‘dangers’
of vitamins. The researchers at Dr. Rath's Research Institute
have conducted extensive laboratory research and clinical
trials with supplementation of safe and effective nutrient
combinations for various chronic diseases. Please read more
at www.drrathresearch.org
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