I get a lot of questions about what's safe to take regarding vitamins and minerals. My first choice would be that you get the majority of vitamins and minerals from whole foods, but sometimes a vitamin or supplement is necessary to make up for what you don't get in your diet. You will find this list with other resources on the
Cycle Diet Resources link
Take a look at the label of your vitamin and mineral supplement, you can compare it to this list specifically for women 18-50 to see how it lines up.
Please do not take more than the Upper Levels indicated by the Academy of Science unless prescribed by your physician.
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for women 18-50 years in bold type, RDA & AI in regular type per 2001 National Academies of Science:
Vitamin A 700 ug
/d= 2,334 IUs
Vitamin C 75 mg/d
Vitamin D 5 ug
/d or
Vitamin D 600 IUs/d (600 IUs is new DRI for vit D however many prominent vit D researchers question this is still too low- I agree that these new recommendations are too low especially for women with PMS/PMDD. I recommend 1,000-4,000 IUs a day especially during winter mo's. and depending on D status)
Vitamin E 15 ug
/d
Vitamin E 30 IUs/d
Vitamin K 90
ug
/d
Thiamin(B1) 1.1mg/d
Riboflavin(B2)1.1mg
Niacin 14 mg/d
B6 1.3 mg/d
Folate 400 ug
/d
B12 2.2
ug
/d
Pantothenic Acid 5 mg/d
Biotin 30
ug
/d
Choline 425 mg/d
Calcium 1,000 mg/d
Chromium 25
ug
/d
Copper 900 ug
/d
Fluoride 3 mg/d
Iodine 150 ug
/d
Iron 18 mg/d
Magnesium 320 mg/d
Manganese 1.8 mg/d
Phosphorus 700 mg/d
Selenium 55 ug
/d
Zinc 8 mg/d
Please Note, Tolerable Upper Intake Levels
Vitamin A 3,000 ug
/d= 10,000 IUs
Vitamin C 2,000 mg/d
Vitamin D 100 ug
/d
Vitamin D 4,000 IUs (10,000 IUs/d are considered safe by D researchers)
Vitamin E 1,000mg/d
B6 100mg/d
Folate 1,000 ug
/d
Calcium 2,500mg/d
Magnesium 350mg/d
Selenium 400 ug
/d
Zinc 40mg/d
Data on other vitamin and mineral upper intake levels are not yet available, there are known consequences of toxicity at the above levels. Do not take more than the (UL) in supplement. Please read the label of all supplements and inform your physician on any nutritional supplements you may be taking.