USANA Health Sciences, Inc. commends the USDA for recognizing that nutritional gaps are common in the average American diet and that dietary supplementation can play a vital role in filling those gaps. However, USANA scientists and advising physicians caution that many important nutrients were not included in the recently published Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 and that the USDA dosage recommendations are not sufficient to improve and maintain overall health.
In its 112-page guide, the USDA states that “in certain cases, fortified foods and dietary supplements may be useful in providing one or more nutrients that otherwise might be consumed in less than recommended amounts.” However, they limit those nutrients to vitamin D, folic acid, vitamin B12, and iron.
“We’re pleased that the USDA is recognizing that most Americans are not getting all the micronutrients they need from their diet and that, for many, proper supplementation is an effective solution,” says Dr. John Cuomo, USANA’s Executive Director of Research and Development. “However, they fail to recognize that in fact many other essential nutrients, such as calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, vitamin B6, vitamin E and many others are consumed in less than the recommended amounts by major segments of the U.S. population, even though the nutrient data was generated by another department of the U.S. government.”
Additionally, these deficiencies are only based on existing recommended daily allowances (RDAs), which help to prevent chronic deficiency diseases. Intake of vitamins and minerals at RDA levels are the absolute minimum needed by everyone, but fall far short of the optimal levels shown to help maintain long-term overall health.
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