Tina is consuming 12 mg of iron per day. Her RDA is 15 mg. She has no condition warranting a greater-than-normal need for iron. Which of the following statements is true about her consumption of this nutrient?

A) She is likely to be deficient in iron.

B) She will need to consume significantly more iron, above the RDA, to make up for her intake.

C) Only if her intake is consistently less than 70% of the RDA would she be at great risk of nutritional deficiency.

D) She couldn't possibly be getting enough iron for her needs.

C) Only if her intake is consistently less than 70% of the RDA would she be at great risk of nutritional deficiency.

Explanation:

Recommended dietary allowance is the amount of nutrients that are sufficient to maintain a good health. RDA is set by Food and Nutrition Board of Institute of Medicine to meet the requirements of (97%-98%) people. If someone is consuming lower level of nutrient than RDA it may be deficient or may not be because the requirement of every person varies. But if a person is consuming consistently less than 70% of the RDA, he would be at great risk of malnutrition.

RDA only tells about adequate amount of nutrients like minimum amount that should be taken by a person to remain healthy. However there are tolerable upper level intake (UL) which indicates the maximum amount of nutrients that could be taken by a person.

Only if Tina intake is consistently less than 70% of the RDA she would be at great risk of nutritional deficiency that why she has no condition warranting a greater-than-normal need for iron.