Which approach best balances DRIs when a client consumes a vitamin supplement that brings total intake above the UL but their dietary intake is below the RDA?

• A. Advise reducing or discontinuing the supplement to bring total intake below the UL while using food-based strategies to meet the RDA, because exceeding the UL raises risk of adverse effects even if diet alone was inadequate.
• B. Advise maintaining current intake since the UL is only applicable to research settings and has no clinical relevance for individual counseling or patient safety.
• C. Ignore the UL because RDAs take precedence; focus solely on raising total intake above the RDA regardless of potential toxicity from the supplement.
• D. Recommend increasing dietary sources to raise intake well above the UL because food-derived nutrients are always less harmful than supplements and cannot contribute to toxicity.

Answer: (A)