How much of your essential nutrients do you need (USA)?

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26th February 2022

Humans need fuel to run their biochemical machinery. There are certain molecules that are essential for the functioning of the human body that cannot be produced within the body. It is therefore necessary to obtain these molecules from the diet (or, in the case of vitamin D, through photochemical reactions in the skin).

Nutrient intake requirements can differ depending on factors including sex, age, weight, height, environment, genetics and physical activity. Government health bodies and other groups have developed nutrient requirement estimates for population groups by reviewing and summarising existing scientific literature. However, even after examining all the experimental and statistical data, our knowledge is still incomplete, and because people vary on an individual level, there is plenty of room for more accurate, individual nutritional information.

For our general information, let’s look at the daily nutrient recommendations according to the US Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences (before the 2011 and 2019 updates for calcium, vitamin D, sodium and potassium) for men and women of different ages. Note that pregnant and lactating women have different nutrient recommendations.

Recommended daily essential nutrient intake values according to US Food and Nutrition Board1,2,3,4,5,6

NutrientEARAIRDIUL
Macronutrients
Water (L)2.1
Bulk minerals
Magnesium (mg)200240590
Calcium (mg)1,3002,500
Phosphorous (mg)1,0551,2504,000
Potassium (g)4.5
Sodium (g)1.52.2
Chloride (g)2.33.4
Trace minerals
Iodine (ug)73120600
Chromium (ug)21
Copper (ug)5407005,000
Iron (mg)5.7840
Manganese (mg)1.66
Molybdenum (ug)26341,100
Selenium (ug)3540280
Zinc (mg)7823
Water soluble vitamins
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) (mg)0.70.9
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) (mg)0.70.9
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) (mg)91420
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) (mg)4
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) (mg)0.8160
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) (ug)1.51.8
Biotin (ug)20
Choline (mg)3752,000
Folic Acid (ug)250300600
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) (mg)39451,200
Fat soluble vitamins
Vitamin A (ug RAE)4206001,700
Vitamin D (ug)550
Vitamin E (mg)911600
Vitamin K (ug)60
Fatty acids
Linolenic Acid (omega-3) (g)1
Linoleic Acid (omega-6) (g)10
Amino acids
Histidine (mg/kg)15
Isoleucine (mg/kg)21
Leucine (mg/kg)47
Lysine (mg/kg)43
Methionine + Cysteine (mg/kg)21
Phenylalanine + Tyrosine (mg/kg)38
Threonine (mg/kg)22
Tryptophan (mg/kg)6
Valine (mg/kg)27


What do EAR, AI, RDI and UL mean?

EAR - Estimated Average Requirement
The EAR is the amount of a nutrient that is estimated to meet the requirement for a specific criterion of adequacy of half (50%) of the healthy individuals of a specific age, sex and life-stage.

RDI - Recommended Dietary Intake
The RDI or RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) is the average daily dietary intake level to meet the requirements of nearly all (97-98%) of the healthy individuals of a specific sex, age and life-stage.

AI - Adequate Intake
If insufficient scientific data is available to calculate an EAR (and, thus, an RDI) then an AI is set. It represents the observed or experimentally derived estimates of average nutrient intake in a healthy population.

UL - Tolerable Upper Intake Level
The UL is the highest daily amount of nutrient that is likely to pose no risks of adverse health effects to almost all individuals in the general population.

References

1

Institute of Medicine. (1997). Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes. Dietary Reference Intakes for calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, vitamin d, and Fluoride. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK109825/ doi: 10.17226/5776 

2

Institute of Medicine. (2005). Dietary Reference Intakes for water, potassium, sodium, chloride, and sulfate. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10925.

3

Institute of Medicine. (2001). Panel on Micronutrients. Dietary Reference Intakes for vitamin a, vitamin k, arsenic, boron, chromium, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, silicon, vanadium, and zinc. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK222310/ doi: 10.17226/10026

4

Institute of Medicine (2000). Panel on Dietary Antioxidants and Related Compounds. Dietary Reference Intakes for vitamin c, vitamin e, selenium, and Carotenoids. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225483/ doi: 10.17226/9810

5

Institute of Medicine. (1998). Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes and its Panel on Folate, Other B Vitamins, and choline. Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, vitamin b6, Folate, vitamin b12, Pantothenic Acid, biotin, and choline. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK114310/ doi: 10.17226/6015

6

Institute of Medicine. (2005). Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.https://doi.org/10.17226/10490.

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