I have came to believe there is more to it than just "insufficiency". It is definitely true that if certain vitamins and minerals are insufficient it will cause us health problems. No argument there.

But there are at least two potential nuances that could make that assessment less than the complete truth.

As we age certain functions of our body changes. Just as an example, our body produces less melatonin as we age. Is that important? I don't know but it could be. It opens the possibility that supplementation might be beneficial as we age where it might not be when we are young. Same way with protein. Science has shown we digest it not as well and we absorb the nutrient not as well as we get older. So maybe a protein recommendation for a 20 year old might need to be different for an 80 year old. And these are merely examples. There are many many things that change as we age. Maybe what was sufficiency at 50 no longer is at 70??? I don't know but I can see where sufficiency of certain vitamins, minerals and nutrients might change for an individual over time.

Most recommendations for sufficiency are based on healthy people. Are sufficiency of some things for a completely healthy person the same for a long term diabetic? I think there are differences. For example as a diabetic I seem to have a carbohydrate toxicity problem. Eat too much carbohydrates my blood sugar goes into dangerous territory and stays there too long. So what might be considered sufficient for a healthy person might be not enough or excess for another individual. I think that is where general population recommendations become problematic. There are a LOT of less than healthy individuals in the general population that may not fit normal sufficiency ranges.

And finally there seems to be a difference in sufficiency levels and therapeutic levels. For example there is some research that shows high dose vitamin B at very high levels stops meeting sufficiency requirements and acts more like a drug. That seems to be the case for my essential tremors. So there may be some benefits to taking certain things beyond just sufficiency levels.

But pay no attention to what I think. I'm mostly wrong. Am definitely not a doctor or even rocket scientist. Just consider it my musings and carry on.