Your Dietary Standards Common standards for evaluating nutrient intake –Dietary Reference Intakes –Dietary Guidelines for Americans –Regulations governing the nutritional labeling of food –The MyPyramid Food Guidance System

History of Dietary Standards Advances in metabolism, vitamin and mineral research during the early twentieth century led to the establishment of human nutrient requirements. One of the first Standards were the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA’s) –RDA does have limitations

DRI’s DRI’s include 4 Reference Values –Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) –Adequate Intake (AI) –Tolerable Upper Level (UL) –Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)

Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) Definition –“The daily intake value that is estimated to meet the requirement, as defined by the specified indicator of adequacy, in half to he apparently healthy individuals in a life stage or gender group

Adequate Intake (AI) A value based on experimentally derived intake levels or approximations of observed mean nutrient intakes by a group (or groups) of healthy people Observational standards - observed or experimentally derived approximations of average nutrient intake that appear to maintain a defined nutritional state or criterion of adequacy in a group of people

Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) “The highest level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects in almost all individuals in the specified life stage group.”

Estimated Energy Requirement (EER) The average dietary energy intake that is predicted to maintain energy balance in a healthy person of a defined age, gender, weight, height, and level of physical activity consistent with good health

Recommended Dietary Allowance The average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of nearly all (97% to 98%) healthy individuals in a particular life state gender group.

Uses Of DRI’s (Daily Reference Intake) For an Individual –EAR: Use to examine the probability that usual intake is inadequate –RDA: Usual intake at or above this level has a low probability of inadequacy –AI: Usual intake at or above his level has a low probability of inadequacy –UL: Usual intake above this level may place an individual at risk of adverse effects from excessive nutrient intake For a Group –EAR: Use to estimate the prevalence of inadequate intakes within a group –RDA: Do not use to assess intakes of groups –AI: Mean usual intake oat or above this level implies a low prevalence of inadequate intakes –UL: Use to estimate the percentage of the population at potential risk of adverse effects from excessive nutrient intake

Nutrient Density Refers to a foods vitamin and mineral content relative to its energy content Examples of high nutrient dense foods Examples of low nutrient dense foods

Indices of Diet Quality Diet Quality Index (DQI) –Used to assess the overall diet quality of groups and to evaluate risk for chronic disease related to dietary patterns –The DQI scores diet on the basis of 10 indicators of diet quality Health Eating Index (HEI) –Developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) –Single summary measure of overall diet quality defined in terms of adequacy, moderation and variety

Dietary Guidelines –Goals or standards primarily intended to address the more common and pressing nutrition-related health problems of chronic disease Maintenance of healthy body weight, decrease consumption of fat, increased consumption of complex carbohydrates and use of alcoholic beverage in moderation, if at all.

Nutrition Labeling Nutrition Labeling and Education Act Passed in 1990 by the FDA Mandates nutrition labeling for almost all processed foods regulated by the FDA Calls for activities to educate consumers about nutrition information

Examples and Meanings of Some of the Allowable Nutrient Content Claims High, rich in = 20% or more Daily Value to describe protein, vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber or potassium per serving Good source of = 10% to 19% or more of Daily Value per serving Low Calorie= 40kcal or less per serving

A nutrition education tool translating scientific knowledge and dietary standards and recommendations Problem oriented and address specific nutritional problems identified within the targeted population USDA at the forefront of food guide development

Food Exchange System Method of meal planning Simplifies controlling energy consumption, particularly carbohydrates Replacing the food exchange system is a new method of meal planning called Carbohydrate Counting Simplifies the exchange system

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