Supplement upper limits: the daily maximum for 32 vitamins and minerals
A tolerable upper intake level (UL) is the highest amount of a nutrient that you can take in each day, on average, with likely no risk of adverse health effects for almost everyone in a given age and life stage. It is a limit, not a target: above the UL, the potential risk of adverse effects may increase. The National Academies set ULs; for some nutrients there was not enough data to set one.
| Nutrient | Men 19–50 | Women 19–50 | Unit | What counts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | 3,000 | 3,000 | mcg RAE | Preformed vitamin A only |
| Vitamin C | 2,000 | 2,000 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
| Vitamin D | 100 (4,000 IU) | 100 (4,000 IU) | mcg | Food and supplements |
| Vitamin E | 1,000 | 1,000 | mg | Supplements and fortified foods only |
| Vitamin K | Not set | Not set | mcg | No UL |
| Thiamin (B1) | Not set | Not set | mg | No UL |
| Riboflavin (B2) | Not set | Not set | mg | No UL |
| Niacin (B3) | 35 | 35 | mg | Supplements and fortified foods only |
| Vitamin B6 | 100 | 100 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
| Folate | 1,000 | 1,000 | mcg folic acid | Supplements and fortified foods only |
| Vitamin B12 | Not set | Not set | mcg | No UL |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) | Not set | Not set | mg | No UL |
| Biotin | Not set | Not set | mcg | No UL |
| Choline | 3,500 | 3,500 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
| Calcium | 2,500 | 2,500 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
| Chromium | Not set | Not set | mcg | No UL |
| Copper | 10,000 | 10,000 | mcg | Food, water and supplements |
| Fluoride | 10 | 10 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
| Iodine | 1,100 | 1,100 | mcg | Food, water and supplements |
| Iron | 45 | 45 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
| Magnesium | 350 | 350 | mg | Supplements and medications only |
| Manganese | 11 | 11 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
| Molybdenum | 2,000 | 2,000 | mcg | Food, water and supplements |
| Phosphorus | 4,000 | 4,000 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
| Selenium | 400 | 400 | mcg | Food, water and supplements |
| Zinc | 40 | 40 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
| Boron | 20 | 20 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
| Nickel | 1 | 1 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
| Vanadium | 1.8 | 1.8 | mg | Food and supplements |
| Potassium | Not set | Not set | mg | No UL |
| Sodium | Not set | Not set | mg | No UL |
| Chloride | 3,600 | 3,600 | mg | Food, water and supplements |
“Not set” means the National Academies did not set a UL, usually because data on adverse effects were too limited. Some ULs change with age or during pregnancy (for example calcium and phosphorus); each nutrient page lists every life stage from age 14. Vitamin A is in mcg RAE; the folate UL is in mcg of folic acid.
How Ceiling uses these numbers
Ceiling adds up every supplement you scan and compares your daily total for each nutrient with its UL. It counts supplements only, not food. Ceiling is coming soon on iPhone. No account; everything stays on your iPhone.
Sources
- Food and Nutrition Board, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs): Summary tables (Appendix J), in Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019), Appendix J. NCBI Bookshelf NBK545442, tables J-2, J-3, J-8 and J-9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545442/
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, dietary supplement fact sheets.
- Ceiling reference data built 2026-10-03 from the tables above.
General information, not medical advice. Talk to a clinician about your own situation.