Dietary Reference Intake

The Recommended Daily Allowances ( RDAs ) and Recommended Dietary Allowances, specify the quantities of essential nutrients that are considered according to the current state of scientific knowledge is sufficient to meet the daily needs virtually any healthy person. Sometimes RDA is translated as " recommended daily allowance " from english to recommend " recommend". The word allowance means, among other things, adding or allocation and grant, "pocket money".

The scope of an RDA compilation may be different. In addition to information on a number of vitamins and minerals, protein and amino acids, carbohydrates, fiber, food, energy and water are often also information about essential fatty acids and fat generally contain.

History

Originally it is an American compilation, which was released in 1943 for the first time under the name of Recommended Dietary Allowances and updated at regular intervals until 1989. Were initially military purposes in the foreground so later and civilian applications were added as the interpretation of nutrition reports. Based on the Recommended Dietary Allowances of 1968, another record was set, which should serve the labeling of foodstuffs to the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances ( USRDAs ). In the 1990s, a collaboration between the United States and Canada, the updates of the Recommended Dietary Allowances now began to appear in their result in greatly extended form as Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI ).

In other countries, similar statements were issued. Thus, the German Nutrition Society ( DGE), published in 1956 for the first time its recommendations for nutrient intake. The regular updates are delivered since 2000 in cross-border cooperation of DGE, Austrian Nutrition Society ( ANS ), Swiss Society for Nutrition Research ( SGE ) and Swiss Nutrition Association (SVE ) under the new name DA- CH reference values ​​for nutrient intake.

European RDA

As part of the unification of European regulations valid Recommended Daily Allowances were published in 1990 and set binding in Directive 90/496/EEC on nutrition labeling in the EU. An update of the policy took place in 2008, which has since also includes new RDAs. The new directive is to enter no later than October 31, 2009 into force in the Member States, for a transitional period of three years, the merchandise with marked according to the old policy is still permitted.

In the table below are for vitamins and minerals each old and new European RDA ( EU RDA) listed (see here also Resolutions for units):

Validity and accuracy

Apart from the fact that the individual variability is very pronounced within a population, there are significant differences in the requirements between the various population groups. In addition, the information available on the human requirement for essential nutrients in many areas are still very limited. This is due to the fact that relevant human studies are very costly and time-consuming. Therefore, it will hardly be possible to test a representative cross-sectional population comprehensively. And of course, some types of experiments already prohibit ethical reasons. Factors that influence the supply of essential nutrients:

  • Age
  • Sex
  • Pregnancy and lactation
  • Diseases
  • Regular medication
  • Increased alcohol consumption, smoking

To account for differences from person to person accounts, statistical methods are applied. So the recommended amount for daily intake of vitamins and minerals is usually such that it should be sufficient for 98% of the members of a particular population group. Unless expressly stated otherwise, it is stated as such information is solely based on healthy individuals who regularly take neither medicine nor consume social drugs. Also, people who are still recovering from an illness ( convalescent ), do not belong to it. The quantities referred to are not intended to replenish depleted body stores gone again.

In some cases it may also happen that the recommendations relate to the average demand, ie for 50 % of individuals of a given population group are sufficient. Which is often handled, for example, the supply of dietary energy this way.

What is not an RDA

Information on ceilings and upper limits for the absorption of vitamins and minerals are named as follows:

  • UL, abbreviated for engl. Tolerable Upper Intake Level
  • NOAEL, abbreviated for engl. No Observed Adverse Effect Level
  • LOAEL, abbreviated for engl. Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level
Dietary element Dietary fiber German-speaking Europe Vitamin A Thiamine Niacin Vitamin B6 Biotin Chromium Magnesium Manganese Selenium Zinc Medical ethics No-observed-adverse-effect level Hypovitaminosis Hypervitaminosis Guideline Daily Amount
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