Recommended Dietary Intakes -RDI


Nutrient intake recommendations are known as Recommended Dietary Intakes - RDI. The RDI's generally refer to vitamins, minerals, energy and protein. Though nutrient recommendations are made in terms of daily intakes, not all nutrients are needed for the day. Most nutrients can also be stored in our organs.

Macronutrients that provide energy are stored in liver and muscles as glycogen, and in adipose tissue and muscles as triglycerides.

RDI's are the amounts of essential nutrients that are considered adequate to meet the nutritional requirements of healthy people. The RDI's are designed to easily prevent classical nutritional deficiency diseases, such as scurvy, beri-beri, pellagra, rickets and anaemia. Indeed, there is a wide margin of safety. However, they do not address the extra nutrient needs of persons with certain chronic ailments, who smoke, or who are on drug medication.

Vitamin demand vary from one individual to another and the stores of fat-soluble vitamins are usually higher than those of the water-soluble vitamins. However, even the stores of the water-soluble vitamins are sufficient to protect the well nourished individual for many days. Example, it may take as long as 80-90 days before the symptoms of scurvy appear if one eats a diet without vitamin C. It is estimated that body stores of vitamin B12 are adequate for more than two years.

Well nourished individuals are able to withstand periods of deprivation or periods of increased need such as occur with pregnancy and lactation. They are also at an advantage when stressed by disease or trauma.

Higher vitamin levels optimise disease-preventing properties and is particularly important to remember that RDI's are for healthy people. In illness the requirements for many nutrients are altered. For example, with stress, trauma or surgery, the requirement for vitamin C may be more than 8 times the RDI for healthy adults; zinc requirements increase for wound healing.

Individuals have widely varying nutrient requirements - both from person-to-person and from day-to-day. RDI's should be used with caution in assessing an individual's diet. There needs to be corroborating evidence (e.g. biochemical measures) before a person's diet can be declared to be inadequate on the basis of a comparison with the RDI's alone.

• Recommended Dietary Intakes for infants from 0-6 months 
  A brief article on RDI for infants from 0 to 6 months
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for infants from 7-12 months 
  A brief article on RDI for infants from 7 to 12 months
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Childrens from 1-3 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Childrens from 1 to 3 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Childrens from 4-8 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Childrens from 4 to 8 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Males from 9-13 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Childrens from 9 to 13 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Males from 14-18 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Males from 14 to 18 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Males from 19-30 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Males from 19 to 30 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Males from 31-50 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Males from 31 to 50 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Males from 51-70 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Males from 51 to 70 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Males from 70+ years 
  A brief article on RDI for Males from 70+ (plus) years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Females from 9-13 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Females from 9 to 13 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Females from 14-18 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Females from 14 to 18 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Females from 19-30 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Females from 19 to 30 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Females from 31-50 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Females from 31 to 50 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Females from 51-70 years 
  A brief article on RDI for Males from 51 to 70 years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Females from 70+ years 
  A brief article on RDI for Females from 70+ (plus) years
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for pregnancy 
  A brief article on RDI for Pregnancy
  
  
• Recommended Dietary Intakes for Female during Lactation 
  A brief article on RDI for lactation