| Recommendations on nutrient intake are based on Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs)
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Dietary intake is not easy to assess in a formal way, particularly when micronutrients are concerned. The available assessments are based on (sometimes incomplete) population data. We currently use sets of values, which describe suggested minimal, average, and adequate intakes. Different values are used in different countries, and there has been a degree of confusion and overlap between definitions (see box on following page). Currently the estimates of nutrient intake are based on the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI). The DRI are sets of values that describe the intake of a given nutrient in a population (Fig. 21.2). The DRI variables include:
- (a)Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)
- (b)Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
- (c)Adequate Intake (AI), and
- (d)Tolerable Upper Intake (UL).
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| A EAR and an RDA values are given for a nutrient or, if these cannot be determined, AI is used. Please see box on p. 300 for the definitions of these variables. There are limitations to the interpretation of DRI. First, they are intended for healthy people. Second, a DRI established for any one nutrient presupposes that requirements for other ones are being met.
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