Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs)

In 1997, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences introduced a method for recommending nutrient intakes - the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs). Before 1997, all recommendations were the Recommendated Dietary Allowances (RDA). Because the IOM wanted to distinguish between different levels of certainty for daily requirements for various nutrients, they came up with the DRIs which include:

• Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) - expected to satisfy the needs of 50% of the people in that age group.
• Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) - expected to satisfy the needs of (97–98%) healthy individuals.
• Adequate Intake (AI) - in place of the RDA, but where more evidence is needed.
• Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) - highest level of consumption that current data have shown to be safe.
• Estimated Energy Requirement (EER) - not necessarily considered part of the DRIs, the IOM established this category for energy intake (i.e., calories). Because the EERs are a series of long equations, they are not included here.

Below is a list of all the DRIs. For more details about the DRIs, such as whether a specific DRI is an EAR, AI, or RDA, see the DRI Tables on the USDA's website.