A table of facts about vitamins. The main fact being that ‘daily requirement’ that we often see published is really the ‘daily usage’ by the body. It is what you use every day. But that doesn’t mean you have to put that back every day.
Your body stores things. So you can go days or weeks without something while you draw on your stores. And then you top them up later. Now that’s where we get ‘daily storage refill’. You can’t just refill the stores in one massive hit. It takes times. The body can only intake and keep so much per day.
And then there’s the maximum you can take on any day. Far more than the body can use and actually dangerous. So that’s the ‘max daily intake’ when you’re trying to ‘fill up’.
And the ‘tolerance’ is how long your body can go without intaking any. While it is using up the stores.
So all this shows it is a much slower, gentler, easier sort of thing. We need to have a sort of understanding of what is going on.
| Nutrient | Daily Usage | Body Storage | Max Safe Daily Intake (UL) | Max Daily Storage Refill (approx.) | Tolerance | Deficiency Manifestations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | 700–900 µg RAE/day | ~1–2 years’ worth | 3,000 µg/day (preformed) | ~1,500–2,000 µg/day | 1–2 years | Night blindness, dry skin, immune deficiency |
| Vitamin D | 15–20 µg/day | ~2–4 months’ worth | 100 µg/day (4,000 IU) | ~10–20 µg/day | 2–4 months | Rickets, osteomalacia, bone pain |
| Vitamin E | 15 mg/day | ~1–2 years (fat) | 1,000 mg/day (supplements) | ~50–100 mg/day | 1–2 years | Muscle weakness, nerve problems, immune issues |
| Vitamin K | 90–120 µg/day | Low storage, rapid turnover | No defined UL | Fast use, surplus excreted | 1–2 weeks | Bleeding problems, weakened bones |
| Vitamin C | 75–90 mg/day | ~2–3 weeks’ worth | 2,000 mg/day | ~200–300 mg/day | 2–3 weeks | Scurvy, swollen gums, easy bruising, fatigue |
| Vitamin B12 | 2–3 µg/day | ~3–5 years (liver) | No defined UL | ~5–10 µg/day | 3–5 years | Anemia, fatigue, nerve damage |
| Folate | 400 µg/day | ~3–4 months’ worth | 1,000 µg/day (synthetic) | ~400–600 µg/day | 3–4 months | Macrocytic anemia, birth defects |
| Iron | 1–2 mg/day loss | ~3–4 g total (hemoglobin, ferritin) | 45 mg/day | ~1–2 mg/day (up to 5 mg if deficient) | 2–4 months | Fatigue, impaired immune function |
| Calcium | 1,000 mg/day intake, balance controlled | ~1–2 kg (bone) | 2,500 mg/day | ~200–500 mg/day | Months to years | Bone demineralization, osteoporosis |
| Magnesium | 300–400 mg/day | ~25 g (bone, tissues) | 350 mg/day (supplemental) | ~100–200 mg/day | Weeks to months | Muscle cramps, fatigue, abnormal heart rhythm |
| Zinc | 8–11 mg/day | ~2–3 g (muscle, bone, organs) | 40 mg/day | ~5–10 mg/day | Weeks to months | Slow wound healing, immune dysfunction |
| Selenium | 55 µg/day | ~13–30 mg (tissue) | 400 µg/day | ~50–100 µg/day | Months | Fatigue, muscle weakness, heart issues |
| Iodine | 150 µg/day | ~15–20 mg (thyroid) | 1,100 µg/day | ~200–300 µg/day | Months | Goiter, hypothyroidism, impaired metabolism |
I hope that is of some help. 🙂