You might have noticed the acronym 'NRV' listed on and around your supplements. Alongside this are 'RDA' and 'SUL', abbreviations which signal how much of a nutrient or vitamin is recommended to consume, and what the maximum level of intake scientists and dieticians advise is. This can be really helpful information to have on hand to ensure your body is getting an adequate supply of the vitamins it needs to function at its best. Although vitamin overdose is extremely unlikely, it can also help to prevent overconsumption, especially when multiple supplements are being combined.
So what do these abbreviations stand for?
NRV: Nutrient Reference Value
The 'Nutrient Reference Value' refers to an amount of essential nutrients consumed that has been judged adequate to meet the known daily needs of most healthy people
Suggested by a World Health Organization expert in 1988, this term only came into standard use in 2014, when a new regulation changed the way products needed to display nutritional information on their labels. If the average healthy person consumes 100% NRV of each essential nutrient a day, from their diet and/or supplements, they will be able to avoid any deficiencies.
RDA: Recommended Daily Allowance
You may also see 'RDA' written as 'RI', or 'Reference Intake'. 'RIs' are essentially the same thing, but more often refer to macronutrients and calories.
The 'Recommended Daily Allowance' is interchangeable with the 'Nutrient Reference Value'.
In December 2014, the term 'RDA' was replaced by 'NRV', but you may still see it used in some places. It is an exact replacement in meaning, and like 'NRVs', uses the most up to date scientific knowledge in order to recommend baseline levels of nutrients sufficient to prevent deficiency in the majority of the population.
When evidence or research is insufficient to develop an 'RDA' or 'NRV', the term 'AI', or 'Adequate Intake' might be used instead. Intake at this level is assumed to ensure nutritional adequacy.
SUL: Safe Upper Limit
You may also see 'SUL' written as 'UL', or 'Tolerable Upper Intake Level'.
Whilst having too low an intake is usually the issue with vitamins and nutrients, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. In other words, if you take more than this amount of a nutrient for a long time, it could pose potentially negative side effects.
The 'Safe Upper Limit' refers to the maximum level of daily intake of a nutrient, from all sources, judged unlikely to pose a risk of adverse health effects to humans.
It is very unlikely that you have to worry about SULs unless you take multiple supplements with extremely high doses of vitamins and minerals. Mighty Kids products are formulated to be especially gentle on little tummies; they are designed to work well with each other, as our product bundles suggest. For instance, it’s encouraged to take products like our magnesium, multivitamin, and vitamin C together, and you can feel confident there is no risk of overdose when taking these as the labels advise.
In practice
For example, here are the NRVs in use for our multivitamin. The dosage instructions vary depending on age, and ensure that these NRVs remain consistent whether taken by you or your children.
In summary
Primarily, you will see NRVs (Nutrient reference values) being used. This is the updated abbreviation for RDA (Recommended daily intake), both referring to the amount of nutrients judged adequate to meet your daily needs. SULs (Safe upper limits) refer to the maximum amount of a nutrient you can safely consume.
Mighty Kids Supplements are designed to help the whole family meet their daily vitamin and nutrient needs. All of our products are GMO free, soy free, sugar free, vegan, allergen free, and contain no artificial colours, flavourings or bulking agents. For additional information on the ingredients we use, take a look here to find out more.
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