What’s your opinion on reference ranges? My understanding is that they’re often too wide, that the minimum is what you need to avoid deficiency diseases but won’t get the average person to optimal function (although there exist outliers for whom it’s exactly the right amount). So the RDI is set too high for most people but the reference range too low for most people. But I’ve never dug into this besides my research on iron not turning up anything on optimal functioning, just deficiencies. Which is maybe fine because knowing the average optimal amount isn’t that informative about your personal optimal amount, that requires self experimentation?
What’s your opinion on reference ranges? My understanding is that they’re often too wide, that the minimum is what you need to avoid deficiency diseases but won’t get the average person to optimal function (although there exist outliers for whom it’s exactly the right amount). So the RDI is set too high for most people but the reference range too low for most people. But I’ve never dug into this besides my research on iron not turning up anything on optimal functioning, just deficiencies. Which is maybe fine because knowing the average optimal amount isn’t that informative about your personal optimal amount, that requires self experimentation?