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Familiar with the RDA's for vitamins and minerals but never heard of the DRI's? Time to update.
Dietary Reference Intakes - What are they?
The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI's) is an umbrella term that includes four different levels of nutrient recommendations for healthy people. The DRI's were developed in order to address the limitations of having one single set of reference values, the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA's). These four levels of nutrient recommendations will eventually replace the currently, and exclusively used RDA's, which were considered the standard for measuring nutritional adequacy since 1941.
Unlike the RDA's, whose original purpose was to help guard individuals against DEFICIENCY diseases such as rickets (Vitamin D deficiency), etc, the DRI's will put forth recommendations that will also help to reduce the risk of many CHRONIC diseases such as osteoporosis, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Hopefully, with these new recommendations, we will see a reduction in the number of deaths associated with diet, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes and improvement in overall diet quality.
The Four Categories of the DRI's and What They Mean
1. Estimated Average Requirement (EAR):
A nutrient intake value that is estimated to meet the requirement of half the healthy individuals in a group.
2. Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA)
The average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of nearly all (97% to 98%) healthy individuals in a group.
This is used as a guide to help achieve adequate nutrient intake aimed at decreasing the risk of chronic disease.
3. Adequate Intake (AI)
A value based on observed or experimentally determined approximations of nutrient intake by a group (or groups) of healthy people. It is used when an RDA cannot be determined.
Shows a mean intake that appears to sustain a desired indicator of health. Ex: AI's have been set for infants through 1 year of age using the average observed nutrient intake of populations of breast-fed infants as a standard.
4. Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)
The highest level of a daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects to almost all individuals in the general population.
As intake above this level increases, the risk of adverse effects increases.
The Seven Nutrient Groups
The DRI's have been divided into seven different nutrient groups:
Calcium, Vitamin D, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Fluoride
Folate and other B vitamins
Dietary antioxidants and related compounds
Micronutrients (e.g., iron, zinc)
Macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, protein)
Electrolytes and water
Other food components (e.g., fiber, phytoestrogens)
Dietary Reference Intakes - What are they?
The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI's) is an umbrella term that includes four different levels of nutrient recommendations for healthy people. The DRI's were developed in order to address the limitations of having one single set of reference values, the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA's). These four levels of nutrient recommendations will eventually replace the currently, and exclusively used RDA's, which were considered the standard for measuring nutritional adequacy since 1941.
Unlike the RDA's, whose original purpose was to help guard individuals against DEFICIENCY diseases such as rickets (Vitamin D deficiency), etc, the DRI's will put forth recommendations that will also help to reduce the risk of many CHRONIC diseases such as osteoporosis, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Hopefully, with these new recommendations, we will see a reduction in the number of deaths associated with diet, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes and improvement in overall diet quality.
The Four Categories of the DRI's and What They Mean
1. Estimated Average Requirement (EAR):
A nutrient intake value that is estimated to meet the requirement of half the healthy individuals in a group.
2. Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA)
The average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of nearly all (97% to 98%) healthy individuals in a group.
This is used as a guide to help achieve adequate nutrient intake aimed at decreasing the risk of chronic disease.
3. Adequate Intake (AI)
A value based on observed or experimentally determined approximations of nutrient intake by a group (or groups) of healthy people. It is used when an RDA cannot be determined.
Shows a mean intake that appears to sustain a desired indicator of health. Ex: AI's have been set for infants through 1 year of age using the average observed nutrient intake of populations of breast-fed infants as a standard.
4. Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)
The highest level of a daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects to almost all individuals in the general population.
As intake above this level increases, the risk of adverse effects increases.
The Seven Nutrient Groups
The DRI's have been divided into seven different nutrient groups:
Calcium, Vitamin D, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Fluoride
Folate and other B vitamins
Dietary antioxidants and related compounds
Micronutrients (e.g., iron, zinc)
Macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, protein)
Electrolytes and water
Other food components (e.g., fiber, phytoestrogens)