Planning The Diet
Planning The Diet
Planning The Diet
livery: Planning
the
Diet with Cultur
al Competency
An appropriate diet is adequate
and balanced and considers the i
ndividual’s characteristics suc
h as age and stage of developmen
t, taste preferences, and food h
abits. It also reflects the avai
lability of foods socioeconomic
conditions, cultural practices a
nd family traditions, storage an
d preparation facilities, and co
oking skills
An adequate and balanced diet meets all
the nutritional needs of an individual
for maintenance, repair, living process
es, growth, and development. It include
s energy and all nutrients in proper am
ounts and in proportion to each other.
The presence or absence of one essentia
l nutrient may affect the availability,
absorption, metabolism, or dietary need
for others. The recognition of nutrient
interrelationships provides further sup
port for the principle of maintaining f
ood variety to provide the most complet
According to the Food and Nutriti
on Board, choosing a variety of f
oods should provide adequate amou
nts of nutrients. A varied diet m
ay also ensure that a person is c
onsuming sufficient amounts of fu
nctional food constituents that,
although not defined as nutrients
, have biologic effects and may i
nfluence health and susceptibilit
y to disease
er and carotenoids, as well
as lesser known phytochemica
ls (components of plants
that have protective or dise
ase-preventive properties) s
uch
as isothiocyanates in brocco
li or other cruciferous vege
tables and lycopene in tomat
o products
Worldwide Guideline
s
Dietary Reference Intakes
American standards for nutrient requir
ements have been the recommended dieta
ry allowances (RDAs) established by th
e FNB of the IOM. They were first publ
ished in 1941 and most recently revise
d between 1997 and 2002. Each revision
incorporates the most recent research
findings. In 1993 the FNB developed a
framework for the development of nutri
ent recommendations, called dietary re
ference intakes(DRI).
Estimated Safe and Adequate
Daily Dietary Intakes
Numerous nutrients are known to
be essential for life and
DRI Components
The DRI model expands the previous
RDA, which focused only on levels o
f nutrients for healthy populations
to prevent deficiency diseases. To
respond to scientific advances in d
iet and health throughout the life
cycle, the DRI model now includes f
our reference points: adequate inta
ke (AI),estimated average intake (E
AR), RDA,and tolerable upper intake
level (UL)
The adequate intake (AI) is a
nutrient recommendation
based on observed or experimen
tally determined approximation
of nutrient intake by a group
(or groups) of healthy
people when sufficient scienti
fic evidence is not available
to
calculate an RDA or an EAR.
The estimated average requirem
ent (EAR) is the average requi
rement of a nutrient for healt
hy individuals; a functional o
r clinical assessment has been
conducted, and measures of ade
quacy have been determined. An
EAR is the amount of a nutrien
t with which approximately one
half of individuals would have
their needs met and one half w
ould not
The recommended dietary allowance
(RDA) presents the amount of a nu
trient needed to meet the require
ments of
Finally the tolerable upper intak
e level (UL) was established for m
any nutrients to reduce the risk o
f adverse or toxic effects from co
nsumption of nutrients in concentr
ated forms—either alone or combin
ed with others (not in food)—or f
rom enrichment and fortification.
A UL is the highest level of daily
nutrient intake that is unlikely t
o have any adverse
Target Population
Each of the nutrient recommendation ca
tegories in the DRI system is used for
specific purposes among individuals or
populations. The EAR is used for evalu
ating the nutrient intake of populatio
ns. The AI and RDA can be used for ind
ividuals. Nutrient intakes between the
RDA and the UL may further define inta
kes that may promote health or
prevent disease in the individual.
Age and Gender Groups
Because nutrient needs are highly indiv
idualized depending on age, sexual deve
lopment, and the reproductive status oo
ffemales, the DRI framework has 10 age
groupings, includig age-group categorie
s for children, men and women 51 to 70
years of age, and those older than 70 y
ears of age. It separates three age-gro
up categories each for pregnancy and la
ctation—younger than 18 years, 19 to 3
0 years, and 31 to 50 years of age.
Reference Men and Women
Dietary Planning
To plan diets for individuals or
groups thatare appropriate from
a health and nutrition perspecti
ve, it is important that registe
red dietitians and health provid
ers use resources that are targe
ted to the specific client or gr
oup. Numerous population subgrou
ps in the United States and thro
ughout Athe world have specific
cultural, ethnic, or religious b
eliefs and practices to consider
Religion and Food