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Chapter Summary for Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies 11e
Chapter 2 – Nutrition Tools—Standards and Guidelines
The Dietary Reference Intakes are nutrient intake standards set for people living in the United States and Canada.
The Daily Values are U.S. standards used on food labels. The DRI provide nutrient intake goals for individuals,
supply a set of standards for researchers and public policy makers, establish tolerable upper limits for nutrients
that can be toxic in excess, and take into account evidence from research on disease prevention. The DRI are
composed of the RDA, AI, UL, and EAR lists of values, along with the AMDR ranges for energy-yielding nutrients.
The DRI represent up-to-date, optimal, and safe nutrient intakes for healthy people in the United States and Canada.
The DRI are based on scientific data and are designed to cover the needs of virtually all healthy people in the
United States and Canada. Estimated Energy Requirements are energy intake recommendations predicted to
maintain body weight and to discourage unhealthy weight gain. The Daily Values are standards used only on food
labels to enable consumers to compare the nutrient values among foods.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, nutrition recommendations for Canadians, and other such standards
address the problems of overnutrition and undernutrition. To implement them requires exercising regularly,
following the USDA Food Guide, seeking out whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, limiting intakes of saturated and
trans fats, sugar, and salt, and moderating alcohol intake.
The USDA Food Guide specifies the amounts of foods from each group that people need to consume to meet their
nutrient requirements without exceeding their calorie allowances. The concepts of the USDA Food Guide are
conveyed to consumers through the MyPyramid educational tool. The USDA Food Guide can be used with
flexibility by people with different eating styles. People wishing to avoid overconsuming calories must pay
attention to the size of their food servings. Exchange lists facilitate calorie control by providing an understanding
of how much carbohydrate, fat, and protein are in each food group.
The Nutrition Facts panels and ingredients lists on labels provide reliable information on which consumers can base their
food choices. Regrettably, more and more of the health-related claims printed on labels are based on less than convincing
scientific evidence. In the world of food and supplement marketing, label rulings put the consumer on notice: “Let the buyer
beware.”