RDA - AI - UL

In 1997 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) created a newer and more extensive way of looking at RDA's. They created the dietary reference intakes (DRI's) which categorizes intakes into four different definitions.

ATTENTION: The amount of food’ s nutrients and their % of the daily suggested intake for you, are based on the RDA. When there is not established the RDA, the % of the daily suggested intake for you are based on AI.

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA): the average level of daily dietary intake which is sufficient enough to meet nutrient requirements of 97– 98 percent of healthy persons in particular life stages and gender groups.

Adequate Intake (AI): the recommended intake based on experimentally or observed approximations of nutrient intake by groups of healthy individuals, which are assumed adequate. These are used when RDA's can't be determined.

Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL): a highest level of nutrient intake daily that will not pose a risk of adverse effects for most people in the population. As you increase intake above the UL your risk for adverse reactions increase. This is the major difference between the DRI's and the old RDA's as they never offered the highest level that could be consumed.

Estimated Average Requirement (EAR): used as the basis for RDA and is a value of daily nutrient intake which is estimated to meet requirements for half of healthy people in a gender group or life stage.

Information about Micrograms, Milligrams & International Units
• mcg = microgram • mg = milligram
• To convert mcg' s to mg's divide the mcg' s by 1,000. Example 400 mcg/1000 = .4 mg.
• To convert mg's to mcg' s multiply the mg's by 1,000. Example .4 mg*1000 = 400 mcg.
• To convert vitamin’ s A mcg to IU, multiply the mcg by 3,333. Example: 200 mcg A * 3,333 = 667 IU. To convert IU to mcg divide the IU by 3,333.
• To convert vitamin’s D mcg to IU, multiply the mcg by 40. Example: 10 mcg D * 40 = 400 IU. To convert IU to mcg divide the IU by 40.