Recommended Daily Allowance

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The Recommended Daily Allowances ( RDAs ), also Recommended Dietary Allowances , indicate the amounts of essential nutrients that, according to current scientific knowledge, are considered sufficient to meet the daily needs of almost every healthy person. Sometimes RDA is translated as "recommended daily dose" , from English to recommend "recommend" and allowance for "default".

The scope of an RDA compilation can vary. In addition to information on a number of vitamins and minerals , information on essential fatty acids and fat in general, protein and amino acids , carbohydrates , fiber , food energy and water is often included.

history

Originally, it is a compilation that was first published in 1943 under the name Recommended Dietary Allowances by the US Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) and updated at regular intervals until 1989. At first, military purposes were in the foreground, but later civilian applications such as the interpretation of nutrition reports were added. Based on the Recommended Dietary Allowances of 1968, another set of data was set up to be used for labeling food , the US Recommended Daily Allowances (USRDAs). In the 1990s, the USA and Canada began working together , as a result of which the updates to the Recommended Dietary Allowances now appear in a greatly expanded form as Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI).

Similar lists have also been issued in other countries. The German Nutrition Society (DGE) published its recommendations for nutrient intake for the first time in 1956 . The regular updates have been carried out since 2000 in cross-border cooperation between DGE, the Austrian Society for Nutrition (ÖGE), the Swiss Society for Nutrition Research (SGE) and the Swiss Nutrition Association (SVE) under the new name DA-CH - reference values ​​for nutrient intake .

European RDA

As part of the standardization of European regulations, the Recommended Daily Allowances valid in the EU were issued and made binding in 1990 in Directive 90/496 / EEC for nutrition labeling . The guideline was updated in 2008 and has since also included new RDAs. The new directive is to come into force in the member states by October 31, 2009 at the latest , with trade in goods labeled according to the old directive still being permitted for a transitional period of 3 years.

The following table lists the old and new European RDA (EU-RDA) for vitamins and minerals (see also prefixes for units of measurement ):

vitamin Chemical compounds) new EU-RDA
from 2008
previous EU-RDA
from 1990
Vitamin A Retinol 800 µg 800 µg
Vitamin B 1 Thiamine 1.1 mg 1.4 mg
Vitamin B 2 Riboflavin 1.4 mg 1.6 mg
Vitamin B 3 niacin 16 mg 18 mg
Vitamin B 5 Pantothenic acid 6 mg 6 mg
Vitamin B 6 Pyridoxine , pyridoxal and pyridoxamine 1.4 mg 2 mg
Vitamin B 7 Biotin 50 µg 150 µg
Vitamin B 9 Folic acid 200 µg 200 µg
Vitamin B 12 Cobalamin 2.5 µg 1 µg
vitamin C Ascorbic acid 80 mg 60 mg
Vitamin D Cholecalciferol 5 µg 5 µg
Vitamin E. Tocopherol 12 mg 10 mg
Vitamin K Phylloquinone 75 µg -
see also: vitamin B complex
minerals new EU-RDA
from 2008
previous EU-RDA
from 1990
Calcium 800 mg 800 mg
chloride 800 mg -
chrome 40 µg -
iron 14 mg 14 mg
fluoride 3.5 mg -
iodine 150 µg 150 µg
potassium 2000 mg -
copper 1 mg -
magnesium 375 mg 300 mg
manganese 2 mg -
molybdenum 50 µg -
phosphorus 700 mg 800 mg
selenium 55 µg -
zinc 10 mg 15 mg

Validity and accuracy

Apart from the fact that the individual variability within a population group is very pronounced, there are considerable differences in the requirements between the individual population groups. In addition, the information available about the human need for essential nutrients is still very limited in many areas. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that such studies on people are very costly and time-consuming. Therefore it will hardly be possible to comprehensively test a representative cross-section of the population. Some types of experiments are also prohibited for ethical reasons. The following factors influence the need for essential nutrients:

Statistical methods are used to account for the differences between people . The recommended amount for the daily intake of vitamins and minerals is usually calculated in such a way that it should be sufficient for 98% of members of a certain population group. Unless expressly stated otherwise, such information relates exclusively to healthy people who neither regularly take medication nor consume stimulants. Even people who are still recovering from an illness ( convalescents ) are not included. The amounts mentioned are also not intended to replenish depleted body supplies.

In some cases it can also happen that the recommendations relate to the average need , i.e. are sufficient for 50% of the people of a certain population group. This is often done for the supply of food energy , for example .

What an RDA is not

Information on maximum quantities and upper limits for the intake of vitamins and minerals are named as follows:

  • UL , abbreviated for English Tolerable upper intake level
  • NOAEL , abbreviated for English No Observed Adverse Effect Level
  • LOAEL , abbreviated for English Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Subcommittee on the Tenth Edition of the RDAs, Food and Nutrition Board, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council: Recommended Dietary Allowances: 10th Edition. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1989 ISBN 0-309-04041-8 , p. 10; Online edition
  2. a b c d Directive 2008/100 / EC (PDF) of the Commission of October 28, 2008 amending Council Directive 90/496 / EEC on the nutrition labeling of foods with regard to the recommended daily allowances, the conversion factors for the energy value and the definitions .
  3. Word list for example at dict.cc
  4. ^ A b c German Nutrition Society, Austrian Nutrition Society, Swiss Nutrition Research Society, Swiss Nutrition Association: Reference values ​​for nutrient intake. 1st edition, 3rd fully reviewed and corrected reprint, Neuer Umschau Buchverlag, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, 2008 ISBN 978-3-86528-128-9
  5. JJ Otten, J. Pitzi Hellwig, L. Meyers (editor): Dietary Reference Intakes: The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2006 ISBN 0-309-10091-7
  6. Background facts on the reference value tables for nutrient intake at the German Nutrition Society
  7. a b c Directive 90/496 / EEC (PDF) of the Council of September 24, 1990 on the nutrition labeling of foods
  8. Compilation of tolerable upper intake quantities for macro and micronutrients (status: March 2006; accessed: October 2009) at the DGE . (PDF, 608 kB)

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