Tales of the misunderstood: RDI

via here

Strolling through my local Tesco's the other day, I was struck by the amount of packaging that has RDI's displayed on them. RDA (or Recommended Daily Intake) are the amount of nurients required to keep an individual healthy. Or so we all think. In actual fact, RDI's are the levels of nutrients require to meet the requiremnets of 97%-98% of the population.
What does that mean?

Well let's look at the history behind RDI's.
RDI's were developed during World War II so that adequate nutrition could be given to people during a time when food was scarce. In other words, "what is the minimum amount of each nutrient a person needs just to keep them alive?" These values we never meant for optimum health, but were base levels needed for survival. And yet they are used as advertising for "healthy foods", companies trying to dupe consumers into buying foods that have little nutitional value but that comply to the antiquated RDI system.
In actual fact, most of the levels needed for optimum health are usually double what is "recommended". Take Magnesium for example, which is needed for over 300 cellular functions, the RDI is up to 420mg, when in reality up to 1000mg is needed for improved brain function, better sleep and muscle relaxation.
So don't be fooled by those labels, health doesn't come in a packet, it takes time and effort, but you're worth it don't you think?