RDA
Quick Summary
The term RDA stands for Recommended Dietary Allowance. It is a set of dietary standards established to help individuals plan healthy diets and avoid consuming excessive amounts of nutrients. These recommendations are determined by scientific bodies and are intended to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all healthy individuals within a specific life stage.12
The concept of RDAs was reframed in the 1990s into Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), which consider not only preventing deficiency diseases but also reducing the risk of chronic diseases. DRIs include four categories of reference values: the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR), the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), the Adequate Intake (AI), and the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL). These guidelines serve as a model for other countries in setting their own nutritional standards.2
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