Tell a friend


Follow Us:

Home » Blog » Understanding Multivitamins. %DV (Daily Value)

Understanding Multivitamins. %DV (Daily Value)

Posted on by

DV (Daily Value) for vitamins and minerals is based on recommendations for dietary intake that were established in 1968. Current recommended amounts are called DRI (Dietary Reference Intakes). For most vitamins and minerals 100% DV are close to DRI. However, for some others 100% DV is much higher than DRI.

Multivitamins sold on the market contain dramatically different amounts of vitamins and minerals. Some include 100% DV of all the ingredients, others include percentages less than 100% such as 30%, 50%, 75%. Still others include very large amounts of vitamins, often as much as 2000% DV or even more.

What is the logic behind these numbers? Is it the more the better?

As with many things, more is not always better. What will happen when you take mega-doses (200% DV or more) of vitamins and minerals? In the case of fat-soluble vitamins (A,E,D,K) the body stores the excess. In the case of water-soluble vitamins (such as B-vitamins) the excess is eliminated.

Short-term supplementation with high doses of vitamins usually causes no harm except extra strain on kidney and liver. One should be more careful with minerals. High doses of some minerals might lead to dramatic imbalance in other minerals and might have toxic effects. Generally, for daily supplementation it is prudent to stay with the amounts of vitamins and minerals not higher than 100% DRI. Excess doses should only be taken under guidance of qualified health care practitioner. Long-term effects of supplementation with mega-doses of vitamins and minerals have not been sufficiently studied.

How do DV and DRI compare to each other and what should you look for on the supplement labels? Supplement labels always list %DV. To see how it relates to current DRI requirements please see comparison table created by Linus Pauling Institute of the Oregon State University.

You May Also Like:

Natalia Lukina
Follow me

Natalia Lukina

Founder at Vital Formulas
Natalia has MS degree in Biology from the California Institute of Technology. After graduating from Caltech Natalia worked at the Scipps Research Institute doing research in cell biology. At the same time she completed a 2-year program in Drug Discovery and Development at UCSD. The more she learned about the Big Pharma business, the more she was upset about the current state of the drug industry. This has led to her studies of nutrition and natural supplementation. She wanted to create safe products that would help people stay healthy and away from medications. That's how Vital Formulas was born.
Natalia Lukina
Follow me

Latest posts by Natalia Lukina (see all)

Comments

comments

This entry was posted in Blog by Natalia Lukina. Bookmark the permalink.

About Natalia Lukina

Natalia has MS degree in Biology from the California Institute of Technology. After graduating from Caltech Natalia worked at the Scipps Research Institute doing research in cell biology. At the same time she completed a 2-year program in Drug Discovery and Development at UCSD. The more she learned about the Big Pharma business, the more she was upset about the current state of the drug industry. This has led to her studies of nutrition and natural supplementation. She wanted to create safe products that would help people stay healthy and away from medications. That's how Vital Formulas was born.