ODA VS RDA
The wellness industry has mushroomed worldwide over the last decade, and Malaysia is no exception. Its advocates propose that the traditional “health care model” is sickness and disease driven. The wellness industry seeks to promote health rather than treat diseases when they strike. It is like looking at the health of a person as being half full (health promoting elements) than being half empty (sickness). Therefore, the focus is on what can promote optimal health and how to fill the glass.
So which nutrients and vitamins do you need and in what amounts? Opinions vary. The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) have been accepted as the standard since the 1940’s. Some researchers are now proposing that the RDAs falls short of what it needs to adequately nourish the body to promote optimal health. The RDA’s were used as the bottomline measure to get by in life and to prevent nutritional deficiencies.
On the other hand, the wellness movement has replaced the RDA’s with Optimum Dietary Allowances, or ODA’s. It is argued that optimal health requires nutrient intakes beyond what the RDA’s advocate and what diet alone can supply. ODA’s are about getting ahead in health, not just getting by (RDA’s).
For instance, the RDA of vitamin E is 30 IU (what you would get from eating 3 balanced meals a day). The ODA for vitamin E is 400-1,600 IU, which means you have to eat 10 meals a day, which is obviously undesirable. Alternatively, to get 400 IU of vitamin E you have to eat 1.5 pounds of sunflower seeds or drink 8 gallons of soymilk daily.
Source: Smith, TJ. Renewal. Published 1998. St. Martin’s Press
Source: Smith, TJ. Renewal. Published 1998. St. Martin’s Press
However, certain bodies like the American Heart Association claim that “there aren’t sufficient data to suggest that healthy people benefit by taking certain vitamin or mineral supplements in excess of the RDA’s.” But they do focus on cardiovascular benefits, and neglect other benefits.
People who are against supplements advocate that a healthy balanced diet is the way to get all the nutrients, while others argue that even with a healthy diet, in order to get ahead in health, you need supplements to shore up your defences. Some also argue that you may get a rebound deficiency. For instance, if you are taking a high dose of vitamin C supplement it will raise the activity of the transporters or metabolizers of vitamin C. once you stop the vitamin C supplement, the highly active matabolizers of vitamin C will cause a rebound vitamin C deficiency.
