Chapter 2

Nutrition Tools – Standards

and Guidelines
Nutrition: Concepts & Controversies, 12e
Sizer/Whitney
 Nutrient Recommendations
 Standards for healthy people’s energy and
nutrient intakes
 Nutrition experts use the recommendations
to assess intakes and offer advice on how
much to consume

 Nutrient Recommendations
 Dietary Reference Intakes  Daily Values
(DRI)  Printed on food labels
 Standard used in USA and  Based on a 2,000 calorie diet
Canada
 DRI set values for:
- vitamins
- minerals
- carbs
- fiber
- lipids
- proteins
- water
 DRI Committee's Values
 Estimated Average Requirement (EAR): average daily nutrient
intake for ½ the healthy people in a particular life stage & gender
group. EAR is used in nutrition research and policy making.
 Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA): average daily nutrient
intake for 97%-98% of healthy people in a particular life stage and
gender group.
 Adequate Intakes (AI): the recommended average daily nutrient
intake level based on intake of healthy people (observed or from
experiments) in a particular life stage and gender assumed to be
adequate.
 Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL): the highest average daily
nutrient intake level that poses no risk of toxicity to almost all
healthy individuals of a particular life stage and gender group.
 Nutrient Recommendations
 Goals of DRI committee
 Setting recommended intake values – RDA &
AI
 Used by individuals for nutrient intake goals
 RDA – solid experimental evidence
 AI – scientific evidence and educated
guesswork
 Facilitating nutrition research & policy – EAR
 Requirements for life stages and genders
 Nutrient Recommendations
 Goals of DRI committee
 Establish safety guidelines – UL
 Identification of potentially toxic levels
 Danger zones
 Preventing chronic diseases
 Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution
Ranges (AMDR) proportions
 45 to 65 percent of calories from carbs
 20 to 35 percent of calories from fat
 10 to 35 percent of calories from protein
The Naïve View Versus the Accurate
View of Optimal Nutrient Intakes
 Understanding the DRI Intake
Recommendations
 Differences between individuals
 Adequate intake over time
 Attempt to get 100% of DRI recommended
intake
 Put DRI recommended intakes into
perspective
 DRI are designed for healthy people
 Daily Values
 Found on food labels
 Apply to the “average” person
 Eating 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day
 Allow for comparisons among foods
 Not nutrient intake goals for individuals
 Have not changed in response to new
research
 DRI values have changed over the years
 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

 Science-based
advice
 Promote health
 Reduce risk of
major chronic
disease
 Apply to most
people age 2 and
older
 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

 Choose nutritious foods

 Based on USDA Food Guide
 Supplements
 Limit potentially harmful dietary components
 Fat, sugar, cholesterol, salt, and alcohol
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
– Key Recommendations
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
– Key Recommendations
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
– Key Recommendations
 U.S. Diet and Dietary Guidelines
Compared
 Healthy Eating Index (HEI)
 Yields a score
 Current American diet: 58 out of 100
 Americans need to choose less of these:
- refined grains, fats, added sugars, salt
 Americans need to choose more of these:
- green leafy veggies & legumes, fruits, whole grains, fat free/low
fat milk products
 Many need to reduce calorie intake
 Diet Planning with the USDA Food
Guide
 Food group plan
 Help people achieve goals
 Specifies portions
 Foods are sorted by nutrient density
 Seven groups: grains, veggies, fruits, dairy,
meats, oils, solid fats and sugars
 Variety
 Among the food groups and within each
group
USDA MyPyramid Food Guide
USDA MyPyramid Food Guide
USDA MyPyramid Food Guide
USDA MyPyramid Food Guide
How Does the U.S. Diet Stack
Up?
 Discretionary Calorie Concept
 Discretionary calorie allowance:
calories remaining in a person's
energy allowance AFTER
counting for the number of
calories needed to meet
recommended nutrient intake
through consumption of nutrient
dense foods.
Calories to maintain weight-calories
needed to supply nutrients from
nutrient dense foods= Discretionary
calorie allowance
 Diet Planning Application
 USDA Food Guide
 Amounts needed from each food group
 Healthful diet for given number of calories
 Physical activity
 Higher calorie need
 Greater discretionary calorie allowance
 Vegetable intakes
 Week timeframe
MyPyramid Recommended Daily
Intakes from Each Food Group
Weekly Amounts from Vegetable
Subgroups
Sample Diet Plan
 MyPyramid: Steps to a Healthier
You
 Online educational tool
 www.MyPyramid.gov
 Guides users through diet planning
 Dietary changes
 Small steps make substantial impacts
 Flexibility of the USDA Food Guide
 Mixed dishes
 Vegetarians
MyPyramid: Steps to a Healthier
You
 Portion Control
 To control calories you must control portions
 Portion sizes may be difficult to judge
 U.S. trend
 Larger portion sizes
 More fat and sugar
 Tips on weights and measures
 Cups (1 cup = 8 oz measuring cup.)
 Ounces- weight not volume
 Tablespoons and teaspoons- measuring spoons not
flatware, filled to level
 ‘Medium’- means different size to people
U.S. Trend Toward Colossal
Cuisine
 A Note About Exchange Systems

 Useful for almost

everyone
 Ideal for weight
watchers or diabetics
 Estimates values for
whole groups of foods
 Focus on energy-
yielding nutrients
 Checking Out Food Labels
 Requirements for food labels
 Common or usual name
 Manufacturer, packer, or distributor contact
information
 Net contents
 Nutrient contents (Nutrition Facts panel)
 Ingredients
 Descending order by weight
 Nutrition Facts Panel
 Serving size
 Common measures allow for comparison
 Servings per container
 Calories/calories from fat
 Nutrient amounts and percentages of DVs
 Fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate,
protein
 Vitamins and minerals
 Vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron
What’s on a Food Label?
 More About Percentages of Daily
Values
 ‘% Daily Value’ is based on 2,000 calorie
diet
 Two types of Daily Values
 Some are intake goals to strive for
 Some constitute healthy daily maximums
 Daily Values greatest use
 Comparing foods
 Claims on Food Labels
 Nutrient claims
 Food must meet specified criteria
 Examples
 “Good source” of a nutrient
 “High” in a nutrient
 Health claims: claims linking food constituents
w/disease states
 Allowed on labels that FDA has approved
 “diets low in sodium may reduce the risk of high
blood pressure”
 Claims on Food Labels
 Structure/function claims: legal but largely
unregulated claim allowed on labels of dietary
supplements and conventional foods
 Requires no prior approval
 Notification of FDA is sufficient
 Required label disclaimer (often in small print)
 Examples
lowers cholesterol
helps maintain normal cholesterol levels
Are Some Foods “Superfoods”
for Health?
Controversy 2
 Phytochemicals
 Nonnutrient components of plants
 Confer color, taste
 Flavonoids- yellow pigment in foods
 Emerging as potential regulators of health
 Antioxidants that protect DNA
 Regulate protein synthesis
 Mimic hormones
 Alter blood chemistry
 Phytochemicals
 Blueberries
 Antioxidants- keeps brain in shape
 Chocolate
 Flavonoids and antioxidants- prevents heart
disease
 Flaxseed
 Lignans and phytoestrogens- fight cancer
 Garlic
 Antioxidant organosulfur compounds- stop cancer
 Phytochemicals
 Soybeans and soy products
 Chronic diseases like heart disease
 Downsides- some cancers grow when exposed to
estrogen
 Tomatoes
 Antioxidant lycopene- lessens some cancers
 Tea, wine, pomegranate, and whole grain
lessens breast cancer, low cardiovascular disease
 Yogurt- reduce allergies, ulcers, colon cancer