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Purpose of Dietary Reference Intakes

Health professionals utilize the Dietary Reference Intakes to provide nutrition guidance for planning and assessing diets. Once familiar with their purpose and context, individuals can use these values to guide their own nutrient intake.

  1. History

    • The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences first established the Recommended Dietary Allowances in 1941. In 1995, the Board revamped the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) to the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) to provide a more comprehensive set of values useful in a variety of settings. Emerging research demonstrated the importance of nutrients in chronic disease prevention.

    Types

    • Dietary Reference Intakes consist of four values: Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), Adequate Intake (AI), Tolerable Upper Limit (UL) and Estimated Average Requirement (EAR). A nutrient has an AI only when the RDA cannot be established.

    Function

    • Recommended Dietary Allowances represent the average daily quantity needed to meet the needs of almost all healthy persons. Tolerable Upper Limit represents the highest daily intake that most likely poses no risk of toxicity for most individuals. Unlike RDAs, AIs, and ULs, EAR estimates the nutrient amount needed to meet the requirements of half of all healthy individuals in a population and guides the establishment of the RDA.

    Considerations

    • Nutrition values for vitamins and minerals have changed over the years. The Board continually revises the DRIs based on the current body of knowledge.

    Warning

    • Recommended Dietary Allowances and AIs serve as guidelines for individuals; those with special health considerations may require more or less of a specific nutrient. Check with your health provider.

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