If you have research anything on food & nutrient intakes, you will know that there are so many numbers involved!
Calories, grams, litres, even temperature of food and time of day to eat!
How much and when to eat can be both general and specific and best discussed on a one on one basis at a consultation as many factors need to be taken into account.
These include your individual physiology, biochemistry, age, gender, health status, working and exercise commitments, the list goes on.
Intake Terminology
Intakes are referred to as Nutrient Reference Values (NRV).
Overall, intakes are required to prevent a deficiency and used to treat a deficiency.
Overdosing can be dangerous so be careful when meeting daily intakes with Supplementation.
Recommendations are based on life stage and gender
Amounts can be in milligrams (mg) or micrograms (ug or mcg) or International Units (IU)
So what are the DRI? RDI's? RDAs? EARs? AIs? ULs? %DV ????
Dietary Reference Intake (DRI)
Heading covering various intake requirements
Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
Average amount recommended to meet nutrient requirements (Macro - and Micro- nutrients) of 97-98% of individuals in each life stage and gender
(AKA - Recommended Daily Intake)
Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
Daily intake to meet the requirements of 97.5% of healthy individuals in each life stage and gender
Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)
Amount expected to satisfy the needs of 50% of people in each life stage and gender
Acceptable Intake (AI)
Provided when no RDA has been determined
Upper Limit (UL)
Highest level deemed safe for a particular micronutrient; based on causing no side effects for 97.5% of individuals for each life stage and gender
%Daily Values
Relating to Nutrient fact labels on food stuffs
Recommendations do vary between countries so check your countries information if outside of Australia
These are based on the Australian Health Department recommendations. Check your Countries recommendations.
For ALL the recommended amounts, further details and rationale behind RDA go to
For more information on Micronutrients, food sources and disease prevention & treatment, see "Focus on Micronutrients" Section
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