Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans will help you make the best food choices in planning your diet to best support health. These recommendations are issued by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee of the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Estimated Safe and Adequate Dietary Intakes of Selected Vitamins and Minerals

The Estimated Safe and Adequate Dietary Intakes of Selected Vitamins and Minerals recommendations are placed in a separate table because there is less information on these nutrients. Notice that the values are given as ranges rather than a set figure. Since the toxic levels for many trace elements may be only several times usual intakes, the upper levels for the trace elements given in this table should not be habitually exceeded. These figure do not include allowances for large losses due to sweat or growth.

Estimated Sodium, Chloride, and Potassium-Minimum Requirements of Healthy Persons

This table of the Estimated Sodium, Chloride, and Potassium-Minimum Requirements of Healthy Persons gives the minimum requirements of sodium, chloride and potassium as there is no evidence that higher intakes confer any health benefits. Usual intakes are generally much higher.

Food Guide Pyramid

The Food Guide Pyramid was developed as a graphical representation of the Daily Food Guide to help consumers make appropriate food choices for a healthful diet. The goals are to ensure: (1) a variety of foods to obtain all essential nutrients,(2) the essential nutrients and the proper amount of calories to maintain a healthy weight, and (3) proportional amounts in order to obtain moderation in sodium, sugars, and alcohol, and low in saturated fat and cholesterol. In March 1999 a new Kids' Food Pyramid for 2- to 6-year-olds was introduced.

Internet Sites for Nutrition and Food Science

This is a list of the major on-line resources of public and private organizations. You may have to explore a little to find the information you need.

Median Heights and Weights

and

Recommended Energy Intakes

The Median Heights and Weights and Recommended Energy Intakes assume light-to-moderate activity levels. Your calorie level may vary according to your age, genetics, body size and composition, and activity level

Nutrient Labeling

This link to the US FDA/Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition will provide a detailed explanation and an example of nutrition labeling. You may also refer to the listing of Daily Values, which are the standards used in nutrition labeling.

Recommended Daily Allowances

The RDAs are designed for the maintenance of good nutrition of practically all healthy people in the United States. They are intended to provide for individual variations among most normal people as they live in the United States under usual environmental stresses. Diets should be based on a variety of common foods in order to provide other nutrients for which human requirements have been less well defined. These RDAs are gradually being replaced by the reference intakes described below.

The new Dietary Reference Intakes replace many of the old Recommended Daily Allowances.

New RDIs have been developed for

nutrients that build bone