How much of nutrients needed for healthly life?

I gave the glimpse of calorie and nutrition in the earlier posts. Here I would like to give inputs on other basic nutrition informations,DRI, RDA and AI which is being recommended by nutrition boards all over the world.

DRI, RDA, AI :

Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) comprise a set of reference values for specific nutrients, each category of which has special uses. The reference values, collectively called the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), include the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR), Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), Adequate Intake (AI), and Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)

RDA ( Recommended Daily allowance) :

It is the average daily dietary nutrient intake level sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of nearly all (97 to 98 percent) healthy individuals in a particular life stage and gender group.

The RDA are based on scientific knowledge and have been presented by a committee of the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). RDA is generally accepted throughout the world as a valid source of information.

Adequate Intake (AI):

The recommended average daily intake level based on observed or experimentally determined approximations or estimates of nutrient intake by a group (or groups) of apparently healthy people that are assumed to be adequate—used when an RDA cannot be determined.

The following Chart gives details for Recommended intakes for Major nutrients.

The general guideline is that approximately 57%, 30%, 13% of energy should come from Carbohydrates, Fats and Protein respectively.

what is Calorie?

Calorie:

A calorie (cal) is the amount of heat energy required to raise the 

temperature of 1g of water 1°C from 14° to 15°C. A kilocalorie (kcal) is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1000g of water 1°C.

When broken down one gram of each carbohydrates ,protein and fat releases 4, 4, 9 kcal of energy respectively.

To calculate the energy available from a food, multiply the number of grams of carbohydrate, protein, and fat by 4,4, and 9, respectively. Then add the results together.

For example, 1 slice of bread with a tablespoon of peanut butter on it contains 16 grams carbohydrate, 7 grams protein, and 9 grams fat :

16g carbohydrate x 4 kcal/g = 64 kcal
7g protein x 4 kcal/g                 = 28 kcal
9g fat x 9kcal/g                           = 81 kcal
Total                                                = 173 kcal

From this information, we can calculate the percentage of kcalories each of the energy nutrients contributes to the total. To determine the percentage of kcalories from fat, for example, divide the 81 fat calories by the total of 173 kcalories:

81 ÷ 173 = 0.468 (rounded to 0.47)
Then multiply by 100 to get the percentage:
0.47 x 100 = 47%

(Reference: Understanding Nutrition 7th Edition by Eleanor Noss Whitney and Sharon Rady Rolfes )

The general guide line is that approximately 57%, 30%, 13% of energy should come from Carbohydrates, Fats and Protein respectively.

Making good use of basic nutrition Information

We all know that we need energy to sustain the body’s various functions, including respiration, circulation, physical work, and maintenance of core body temperature.

And we also know that

- we get that energy from food which is broken down by various metabolic activities inside our body to release energy.
- Macronutrients include carbohydrate, fat and protein, micro nutrients are vitamins and minerals.
- Water is an essential nutrient, is needed to carry other nutrients throughout the body and 60% of our body is water.
- Too much of food gets stored as fat and leads to obesity and other diseases.

But we do get confused when it comes to eating right. We get questions like, how much of what I need to eat? How much is enough? Am I getting enough if I eat this? And how much calorie I need per day? What if I take too much calorie?

To answer all these questions we need to know the basic of nutrition. That is to know about energy, calorie, RDA ( recommended Daily allowance ) ,DRI (Dietary reference intake ), AI (Adequate intake) and BMI (body mass index)

In the next few blogs I want to put all the information together which is the key that will unlock the door to better diets and in turn better health and longer lives.