Reply To: Materia Medica of Foods
Hi Claudia,
These are all excellent questions and observations!
Daily Values (DVs) for nutrients are calculated by dividing the amount of a specific nutrient in a serving of food by the recommended daily intake (RDI) for that nutrient, then multiplying by 100 to get the percentage, essentially showing how much of the daily recommended amount a serving of food provides. RDIs are established by health authorities and typically based on a 2,000-calorie diet for healthy adults. RDI’s are the average daily nutrient intake level that meets the nutrient requirements of 97% to 98% of healthy individuals in a particular life-stage and sex group. They are calculated by health professionals that review scientific literature and decide from there what people need to remain healthy.
It’s important to keep in mind that these are created for a subset of the population that are both ‘healthy’ and eat a 2,000-calorie/day diet. There are then adjustments for, say, pregnant people that need more calories, or athletes that require more protein and carbohydrates to fuel and refuel post exercise.
My recommendation for you would be to keep up with current scientific literature rather than read textbooks that are usually not current as soon as they’re printed. RDI’s are not necessarily calculated for people to thrive, they are calculated for people to not become sick or malnourished. Nutrition science is difficult in general, as there can be many biases in clinical trials regarding food. Food sustains us, but that is just one factor when there are (often more importantly) cultural, socioeconomic, political, psychological, geological, and physical reasons why people choose to eat specific foods.
For example, the protein requirements of 0.8g/kg of weight is thought to be very outdated, and for people who are quite active, it’s almost 1g/kg of weight that is recommended to thrive and rebuild after exercise. The doctor you mentioned that said no one meets daily the requirements for minerals hopefully mentioned that these minerals are lost in sweat when you exercise, which is why many people drink electrolytes after a workout or sauna session.
In terms of mild nutrient deficiencies, I can’t really answer that question other than getting regular bloodwork done to keep updated with your levels. Otherwise, this is why a varied diet is recommended, including quality meats, vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds to attain all vitamins and minerals needed.
You might like to listen to Peter Attia, who is a Physician and Author that is preventative based, and provides a lot of research on nutritional interventions. He’s passionate about longevity, and providing tools that help people keep the quality of life that they want as they age.
For some nutrition journals you can stay updated with:
– The Journal of Nutrition https://jn.nutrition.org/
– PubMed – all peer reviewed – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
I hope this helps!
Riley