About the Daily Vitamin and Mineral Requirements Calculator
This calculator looks up your personal Dietary Reference Intakes — the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) or Adequate Intake (AI) and the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) — for 14 vitamins and 9 minerals. Enter your age and sex, plus pregnancy or breastfeeding status if it applies, and you get the full set of daily targets used by dietitians in the US and Canada.
Use it to check a supplement label, judge whether a food log covers your needs, or see how requirements change with life stage: iron jumps from 18 mg to 27 mg in pregnancy, vitamin D rises to 20 µg after 70, and women over 50 need 1,200 mg of calcium. Pick one nutrient to highlight at the top; the table lists all 23.
Values come from the National Academies’ DRI reports (as published in Health Canada’s reference tables), including the 2011 calcium and vitamin D update and the 2019 sodium and potassium update — still the current DRIs in 2026. They are designed for healthy people and cover ages 1 and up. RDAs meet the needs of about 97–98% of healthy people; AIs are used where evidence is too limited to set an RDA. Medical conditions and medications can change your needs.
How to use the daily vitamin and mineral requirements calculator
- 1Enter your age in years (1 or older).
- 2Select your sex, and pregnancy or breastfeeding status if it applies.
- 3Turn on the smoker toggle if you smoke (it raises vitamin C).
- 4Pick the nutrient you most want to check to show it at the top.
- 5Review the full table for every vitamin and mineral target and its upper limit.
Formula and method
There is no formula to solve — the calculator maps your age, sex and pregnancy or breastfeeding status to one of 20 DRI life-stage groups (children 1–3 and 4–8, then males and females 9–13, 14–18, 19–30, 31–50, 51–70 and 71+, plus pregnancy and lactation at 14–18, 19–30 and 31–50) and reads each nutrient’s value for that group.
An RDA is set at the average requirement plus two standard deviations, so it covers about 97–98% of healthy people. Where data were insufficient, an Adequate Intake (AI) is given instead (vitamin K, pantothenic acid, biotin, choline and potassium). The UL is the highest daily intake unlikely to cause harm; for magnesium, niacin, folate and vitamin E it applies only to supplements and fortified foods. Adult smokers have 35 mg added to vitamin C.
- RDA
- Recommended Dietary Allowance — meets needs of ~97.5% of healthy people
- AI
- Adequate Intake — used when an RDA cannot be set
- UL
- Tolerable Upper Intake Level — maximum daily intake unlikely to cause harm
Worked examples
35-year-old woman
A woman aged 31–50 needs 15 µg (600 IU) of vitamin D, 75 mg of vitamin C, 1,000 mg of calcium, 18 mg of iron, 400 µg DFE of folate and 320 mg of magnesium per day, with an Adequate Intake of 2,600 mg of potassium.
Pregnant 28-year-old, checking iron
Pregnancy raises iron to 27 mg (up from 18 mg), folate to 600 µg DFE, vitamin C to 85 mg and magnesium to 350 mg for ages 19–30. The upper limit for iron is 45 mg per day.
72-year-old man who smokes, checking vitamin C
Men over 70 need 20 µg (800 IU) of vitamin D and 1,200 mg of calcium. The vitamin C RDA of 90 mg rises by 35 mg for smokers, to 125 mg, against an upper limit of 2,000 mg.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between RDA, AI and UL?+
The RDA is the daily intake that meets the needs of about 97–98% of healthy people. An AI is used when there is not enough evidence for an RDA and is based on intakes of healthy groups. The UL is the most you can take each day without likely harm; it is a ceiling, not a target.
How much vitamin D do I need per day?+
The RDA is 15 µg (600 IU) a day for everyone aged 1–70, including pregnancy and breastfeeding, and 20 µg (800 IU) after age 70. The upper limit for adults and children 9 and older is 100 µg (4,000 IU).
Why do women need more iron than men?+
Menstrual blood loss raises iron needs, so women aged 19–50 need 18 mg a day versus 8 mg for men. After menopause the requirement drops to 8 mg, and in pregnancy it rises to 27 mg.
Are these the same as the % Daily Values on food labels?+
Not exactly. Daily Values on US labels are single reference numbers for adults and children 4 and older, mostly based on the highest RDA or AI across groups. Your personal RDA from this calculator can be lower or higher than the label DV.
Do I need a multivitamin to meet these targets?+
Most healthy people can meet their needs from a varied diet. Common exceptions include folic acid before and during early pregnancy, vitamin B12 for vegans and adults over 50, vitamin D for people with little sun exposure, and iron in pregnancy — ask your clinician before starting supplements.
This tool gives general estimates and is not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or qualified professional about your health, diet or training.