The Complete Guide to Recommended Daily Intakes, Daily Values, and Nutrient Targets

When trying to consume a healthy diet, it helps to have an understanding of how much of each nutrient you should aim to consume. Several targets have been created so that you eat the right amount of each nutrient.

The most popular and common of these in the U.S. is the Daily Value or (%DV). This is the percentage that you see on all nutrition facts labels. In addition to this, there is the Reference Dietary Intake (RDI), and Tolerable Upper Limit (UL) that any person should consume.

What is the difference between the RDI and DV?

The reference dietary intake (RDI) gives numbers based on age and gender. The Daily Value (DV) builds on the RDI, but creates a number meant for everyone that can be put on the labels of food products.

In short, the RDI is more specific and the DV is more general.

If you are confused, don't worry, this article will clarify it for you, and give you a table with all the numbers.

• Introduction
• Table of Recommended Daily Intakes
• Toxicity and Deficiency Ranges
• What is an average person?
• RDI Adjustment Factors
• Difference between DV, RDI, and UL
• References

Table of Recommended Daily Intakes for Each Nutrient

Table of RDI, DV, and UL for Each Nutrient

This table is for an adult male, average weight of 154lbs (70kg) and height of 70inches (177cm).

*Adequate Intake is assumed to ensure nutritional adequacy and is established when evidence is insufficient to develop an RDI.

How wide is the range between too much (toxicity) or too little (deficiency) for any nutrient?

In the "Bathtub" curve graph below, we see that the RDI is set to cover 98% of all people, and is considerably higher than the "average amount" most people need. After that, there is generally a wide gap where you can consume more of a nutrient, before hitting the Upper Limit where problems from toxicity may occur.

What does the average person look like?

Determining a Dietary Reference Intake depends on a variety of factors and varies from person to person. Age, gender, height, and weight, are 4 of the main factors used. Here are the characteristics for males and females used in determining the RDIs:
For Males aged 19 to 30
BMI - 22.5
Height 177cm (70 inches)
Weight 70kg (154lbs)

For Females 19-30
Average BMI - 22.5
Height 177cm (70 inches)
Weight 70kg (154lbs)

What factors require you to adjust the RDI?

• Being Taller than Average
• Being Heavier than Average (Muscle or Fat)
• Older people
• Pregnant and Lactating Women need more of certain nutrients

• Smokers
• Vegetarians and Vegans
• Menstruating Women (For Iron)
• Alcoholics

What is the difference between the Daily Value (DV), Dietary Reference Intake (RDI), and Upper Limit (UL)?

In short, the Dietary Reference Intake (RDI) tries to define how much of a nutrient each person should have based on their age and gender. The Daily Value (DV) builds on the RDI but is an overall figure that should work for everyone, regardless of age, gender, etc. Therefore, the DV tends to be higher than the RDI. The Upper Limit (UL) is simply the highest amount of any nutrient you should consume. So while the RDI sets the target, the UL sets the limit.

Data Sources and References

1. Institute of Medicine Dietary Reference Intakes
2. FDA List of Daily Values
3. World Health Organization Protein and Amino Acid Intake Recommendations

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