With Increased Magnesium and Biotin, the Regulator Revises the Policies in Vitamins and Minerals Once Again

Recommended dietary allowances (RDA) are the amounts of essential nutrient consumption determined by the food and nutrition board to be adequate to fulfil the known nutritional needs of virtually all healthy people based on scientific evidence.

The FSSAI introduced a new set of recommended dietary allowances on July 16, dubbed recommended dietary allowances 2020, and said that the recent regulations would be in effect on July 1, 2023.

According to the FSSAI, the current version, announced on August 2, was a "partial modification" of the recommended dietary allowances guidelines published on July 16 and was "revised based on the revision of recommended nutritional allowances 2020 by the ICMR-NIN (Indian Council of Medical Research – National Institute of Nutrition).

A comparison of July 16 and August 2 found various modifications in the different versions. 
Firstly, men’s and women's recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for magnesium and biotin were raised. Men's recommended dietary allowances for magnesium rose from 385 milligrams to 440 milligrams, while women's recommended dietary allowances climbed from 325 milligrams to 370 milligrams.

Adults are now advised to take 40 μg of biotin from the previously prescribed intake of 30 μg, with requirements mentioned for pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children.

The recommended dietary allowance for biotin in pregnant women is 40 μg, whereas the recommended nutritive allowance for breastfeeding/nursing moms is 45 μg. Adolescents should take 35 μg, while children aged 4 to 10 should take 25 μg, and youngsters aged one to three should take 20 μg.

Eggs, seeds, nuts, meat, and vegetables like spinach and broccoli contain biotin, often known as vitamin B7. It's a frequent ingredient in hair, skin, and nail nutricosmetics.

Biotin levels have been changed to be greater level than in nations such as the United States. The recommended dietary allowances for biotin in the United States are 30 μg for adult males and women over 19 and 35 μg for pregnant and lactating women. It is 25 μg for teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18, and 8 μg for children between the ages of one and three.

FSSAI was approached for comment on the modifications to the recommended dietary allowances for 2020, however, no answer was received at the time of publishing. The recommended dietary allowances for vitamin B12, iron, iodine, and copper, on the other hand, have been cut in recent directives.

The recommended dietary allowances for vitamin B12 were cut from 2.5 μg to 2.2 μg for adults, while the recommended dietary allowances for iodine were dropped from 150 μg to 140 μg. 

The recommended iron intake was cut from 40 milligrams to 27 milligrams for pregnant women.

In children, various recommended dietary allowances variations have been seen, notably for protein, zinc, and magnesium. Protein recommended dietary allowances rose from 11.3 g to 12.5 g in children aged one to three years, whereas zinc recommended dietary allowances increased from 3 milligrams to 3.3 milligrams.

The recommended dietary allowances for magnesium, on the other hand, was lowered for children aged one to three years from 135 milligrams to 90 milligrams, for children aged four to six years from 155 milligrams to 125 milligrams, and for children aged seven to nine years from 215 milligrams to 175 milligrams.