The Class about Nutrition to Real Life Situations When Making Food Choices
DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) refers to a nutrition structure of recommendations. Its origin is the IOM (Institute of Medicine) in the United States National Academy of Sciences (Berner and Marci 487). DRI broadens RDAs (Recommended Dietary Allowances) and it started in 1997. It has the following reference values;
EAR (Estimated Average Requirement)
EAR refers to the overall amount of a nutrient that should be consumed daily to cater to the nutritional requirements of half the people in a group. This means that if half of the pregnant women in the first trimester took Iron EAR for the entire age group, fifty percent would manifest iron deficiency, while the rest would not (Nestle 143).
RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance)
RDA refers to a certain amount of a given nutrient that caters to the requirements of ninety-seven to ninety-eight percent of all the healthy people in the given group. For instance, if all pregnant women in the first trimester received iron RDA for the entire age group, then only two out of 100 would have deficiencies (Health Mad Article 3).
AI (Average Intake)
For a person to calculate the RDA, adequate information is necessary. In the absence of adequate information, an average daily estimate is made. AI surpasses or caters to the nutritional requirements of nearly every person in the group being investigated (Otten and Linda 72). AI is an approximation that relies on observation and investigational evidence.
UL (Tolerable Upper Intake Levels)
UL refers to the supreme daily nutrient intake that has no likelihood of resulting in detrimental health impacts. In case an individual takes more than the UL he becomes intoxicated.
AMDRs (Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges)
This is mainly vital for energy-providing nutrients, particularly the macronutrients; fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and proteins. AMDRs are stated as the entire calories intake percentage as opposed to absolute numbers (Health Mad Article 3).
Types of Claims on Food Products
Health Claims
This elaborates the link between food ingredients and the ability to minimize disease risk. For example, vitamin D prevents rickets in children. One’s bones, therefore, become strong after consuming the food product.
Dietary Guidance Statements
This recommends the size of the specific serving. It has the calorie amount, size of serving, and nutrients in food, as well as the daily recommended nutrient amount. For instance, food may contain 530 Kcal, vitamins; A, D, B3, and B12, Iron, and Calcium (Berner and Marci 488). The serving can be 3 tablespoons per day and 13% RDA. Customers can make informed decisions.
Nutrient Content
Words for instance low, high or free elaborate the nutrient level in a product. Comparisons can also be made to other food products using; lite reduced or more. This is a method of advertising, and it also informs the customer.
Diet Analysis and Food Journals
With dietary analysis, an individual can easily identify the number of nutrients they take daily ((Berner and Marci 489). Consequently, a person can compare their daily consumption with the Recommended Daily Allowance. The following is a food journal for three days;
References
Berner, Louise A., and Marci J. Levine. “Understanding Tolerable Upper Intake Levels.” Journal of Nutrition 136 (2006): 487-489.
Health Mad. Four Types of Claims on Food Labels. 2010. Web.
Nestle, Marion. Food Politics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. Print.
Otten, Jennifer J., and Linda D. Meyers, eds. DRI, Dietary Reference Intakes: The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2006. Print.