This belief is, I’m afraid to say, is the greatest lie in nutrition today. Why? Firstly, because the chances that your diet meets all the ‘RDAs’ are very slim, and secondly, It all depends on what you mean by ‘need’ and what you want from life.

Do you start from the bottom up, from the point of view of preventing obvious deficiency diseases? Governments the world over have started from the bottom up - from the point of view of preventing obvious vitamin diseases, from scurvy (vitamin C) to beri-beri (vitamin B1) and pellagra (B3 niacin). That’s what the RDA (Recommended Daily Amounts) stands for. But, as we learn more and more the RDAs have drifted up and up. In case of vitamin C from 30mg, to 45mg to 60mg (in the UK) to 85mg (in the US). Even this is just an average and you are far from average. You are genetically unique. That’s why we all look different. Together with your genetic individuality where you live, how much exercise you get and your sex can easily alter your nutritional needs by a factor of ten. That’s why I call the RDAs the ‘ridiculous dietary arbitraries’. They are no more ridiculous than saying everyone should wear size 10 shoes. If you are happy with average poor health achieve the RDAs. That’s my advice.

“If you want optimum health for life choose optimum nutrition”

But if you want the most out of life, and see your health as not just an absence of ill-health, but the presence of well being, you need optimum nutrition. At the Institute for Optimum Nutrition they start from the top down. They asked the question “what intake of vitamin xx equates to the maximum possible wellbeing and the smallest possible risk of disease?” They have  investigated the effects of vitamins, minerals and essential fats on IQ, memory, mood, energy, immunity and infections, lifespan, pregnancy problems and disease risk. From this they established a range of ODAs (Optimum Daily Amounts). Somewhere in this range is your personal ‘optimum nutrition’. That’s what nutritional therapists do – they work out your optimum nutrition.

Have a look at the chart above. You’ll notice that the ODA’s are often ten times the RDA’s. You’ll also notice what the average diet provides – and what you could be achieving if you are eating a healthier diet, with plenty of wholefoods, fruit and vegetables. But there’s still a shortfall between what we’ve researched as optimum and what you are likely to eat. That’s where supplements come in. They make up the difference. That’s the difference between how you feel now and how you could feel if you were optimally nourished.

“Eat Right AND Take a Multivitamin”

This was the headline of a recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine by a highly respected group of cardiologists. Why? Because they had examined the evidence for the ideal intake of B vitamins in relation to cardiovascular health. Other researchers have examined the effects of multivitamins on IQ scores in young and old, on mood and aggression, on immunity and infections, on pregnancy outcomes and disease prevalence. The sad truth is that I can’t tell you the truth of what they found here because if I did I’d be making a ‘medicinal claim’ (a multivitamin becomes a medicine by law if a supplement is claimed to treat, prevent or cure a disease!!)  . But I can tell you that you’d be crazy to not take a multivitamin if you had seen the results I’ve seen from proper, double-blind trials all over the world.

ANTIOXIDANTS

Every minute of your life you are bombarded by ‘oxidants’. Some come from sunlight, even on a cloudy day. Others from fried food, smoke and exhaust fumes. But most come from the normal body process of burning food for energy. These cause damage to cells. The average cell has over one million ‘oxidant’ lesions. Antioxidants are the antidote. The main antioxidants are vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, glutathione, anthocyanidins (found in berries), selenium and zinc. Antioxidants are team players. Vitamin C recycles vitamin E. Glutathione (which is made in the body) recycles vitamin C. Anthocyanidins (rich in bilberry and elderberry extracts) recycle glutathione. Selenium helps vitamin E, and zinc helps selenium.

B VITAMINS

Have you ever wondered how your food turns into energy, or how your body can make more or less adrenalin or serotonin as you need it? The answer is B vitamins. B1, B2, B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid) are essential for turning glucose into ATP – the cell’s equivalent of four star fuel. Meanwhile, your body is changing one key ‘communication’ chemical into another by adding on and taking away what are called ‘methyl groups’. There’s a billion methyl reactions every second and that’s how your body’s chemistry stays in balance. This methylation dance depends upon B6, folic acid and B12. An optimal intake keeps your entire body chemistry in balance and help maintain normal, healthy homocysteine levels.

IMMUNE SUPPORT

Meanwhile, your body’s defences are under continuous attack. The immune system has to decide what is you and what isn’t. With more bacteria inside you than living cells it can be a hard call. Especially when a virus or a food allergen comes along, or when your own cells misbehave. The immune system depends on a whole host of nutrients for support and maintenance. These include vitamin C and zinc. Vitamin C has no less than ten known functions in immunity. How much you need for optimal health is an ongoing scientific debate. Gorillas can eat 1 gram (that’s 22 supermarket oranges) from leaves and berries in their fruit rich jungle. Most of us live in a concrete jungle, exposed to exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke, which use up vitamin C. That’s why I take, and recommend you take in a bit more than a gorilla does!

ESSENTIAL OMEGA 3 & 6 FATS

Omega 3 and 6 fats are essential for your health. Saturated fat you can live without, but these you need. They are essential for every single cell of your body, including your skin and your brain, the dry weight of which is 60% fat. They make ‘prostaglandins’ that control everything from inflammation to the thickness of your blood. And they are vital in pregnancy for both you and your baby. The key fats in your brain are the omega 3 fats DHA and EPA, and the omega 6 fats GLA and AA. Of these, the hardest to get in your diet are EPA and DHA, found predominantly in fish and GLA, plentiful in borage oil. AA (arachidonic acid) is rich in meat, fish, eggs and milk. While fish is a fantastic source of EPA and DHA, many fish also accumulate undesirable chemicals like PCBs. Fish oils, on the other hand, can be purified to give you a virtually PCB free oil.

MAXIMISE YOUR MINERALS

In the same way that your body and mind depend on vitamins, they also depend on minerals. In fact, minerals are more often deficient than vitamins. The majority of people do not achieve even the RDA for iron, zinc and magnesium. Iron is essential for haemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen. Your cells can’t ‘breathe’ without it. Zinc is involved in no less than 200 enzymes in the body, as is magnesium, which is an essential component of both bones, muscles and nerves. Not all minerals have RDAs but that doesn’t mean they are not essential. Chromium and selenium are a case in point. Achieving an optimum intake of these minerals is one of my key ‘optimum nutrition’ objectives.

Maximise Your Absorption

Did you know that the form of minerals used in many supplements are half as well absorbed as the forms used in these supplements? Take zinc as an example. Zinc citrate is twice as well absorbed as zinc sulphate. Of course, the latter is cheaper and that’s why many companies use it.   By eating the right food and taking the right supplements you can achieve optimum nutrition for you and your family.