Vitamins
Our vitamin hub holds 13 pages: vitamin A, the eight B vitamins in our database, and vitamins C, D, E and K. Eleven record the reference intake as an EU NRV, vitamin B9 as an EFSA PRI of 330 micrograms and vitamin D as an EFSA AI of 15 micrograms.
Three kinds of reference value, and why that matters
The figures in the table below do not all come from the same source, which is why each one is labelled. Eleven of the thirteen vitamins carry an EU NRV: the labelling value from European regulation, meant to make products comparable. Vitamin B9 carries an EFSA PRI, an estimated requirement for almost the entire population. Vitamin D carries an EFSA AI, an adequate intake used where the data for a PRI are missing. Those three are not interchangeable, and sweeping them under one heading would make the most important figure on the page less precise than it is.
Why you should not compare these figures side by side
There is one way this table is easy to misread: the units differ. Vitamin A is given in micrograms RAE, vitamin B3 in milligrams NE, vitamin B9 in micrograms DFE and the rest in ordinary milligrams or micrograms. So a vitamin with a higher number does not have a greater requirement; it is measured in a different unit. That looks like a detail, but it is exactly why online vitamin overviews so often produce nonsense. What is useful is to look per vitamin at which foods rank highest in our database, and that is what every underlying page shows: a table of the fifteen richest sources, each with the content per 100 grams. What we do not do on these pages is attach a verdict to it. About the effect of a vitamin we write only in the literally permitted wordings from Regulation (EU) No 432/2012, with the regulation named. If you suspect a deficiency, have your doctor establish it; we do not determine that, and neither does a table.
Where these figures come from
The reference values and their source labels come from the DCRAFT nutrition database, which records per nutrient whether it is an EU NRV, an EFSA PRI or an EFSA AI. The contents per food come from the same database. Chromium and fluoride appear in that list but have no page of their own, because there is no column for them in our food file and a sources page without sources is empty.
Frequently asked questions
How many vitamins do you cover?
13: vitamin A, the eight B vitamins in our database, and vitamins C, D, E and K. Choline has its own page but is recorded in our database as a separate category.
Why do the reference values have different sources?
Because they come from different frameworks. Eleven vitamins carry an EU NRV from the European labelling rules, vitamin B9 an EFSA PRI and vitamin D an EFSA AI. Those three do not mean the same thing.
Can you compare vitamins by their numbers?
No. The units differ: micrograms RAE for vitamin A, milligrams NE for B3, micrograms DFE for B9 and ordinary milligrams or micrograms for the rest. A higher number does not mean a greater requirement.
Sources
- DCRAFT nutrition database — KILLER COACH ENGINE V2.3 workbook (accessed 26 August 2026)
- EU NRV — Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII (accessed 26 August 2026)
- EFSA — Dietary Reference Values (accessed 26 August 2026)
Last updated: .
Written by Dennis, founder of Dcraft Of Fitness.