Chapter 2- Nutrition Guidelines: Applying the Science of Nutrition

Question 1

Dietary Reference Intakes; recommendations for the amounts of energy, nutrients, and other food components that health people should consume in order to stay healthy, reduce the risk of chronic disease, and prevent deficiencies.

Answer 1

DRIs

Question 2

Estimated Average Requirements; the amount of a nutrient that is estimated to meet the needs of 50% of people in the same gender and life-stage group; basis upon which the RDA values are set; not published for consumer use or used as a consumption guideline; approximately 50% of people in a given population subgroup will need more of the nutrient and approximately 50% will need less of that nutrient.

Answer 2

EAR

Question 3

Recommended Dietary Allowances; intake goal for individuals; based on standard deviation from the EAR; covers the needs of 98% of the population. Unlike the RDA’s for the micronutrients, the RDA for energy (kcalories) is set at the mean (EAR) requirement for the population because if it were set to cover ~98 of the population and everyone followed the guideline, most people would eventually get fat! *you will have EITHER an RDA or an AI

Answer 3

RDA

Question 4

Adequate Intakes; set when scientific data is insufficient to establish an EAR value, and thus an RDA. *you will have EITHER an RDA or an AI

Answer 4

AI

Question 5

Chronic Disease Risk Reduction; At this point, sodium is the only nutrient that has a CDRR guideline indicating an amount below which we will have
lowered risk of chronic disease.

Answer 5

CDRR

Question 6

Tolerable Upper Intake Levels; the suggested upper limits of safe intake. It can refer to the total amount consumed or just to supplement intake. It is basically a warning not to exceed the amount rather than a
recommended intake because intakes above the UL can cause illness from toxicity.

Answer 6

UL

Question 7

Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges; percentages given as a proportion of total
kcal consumption:
Carbohydrate: 45-65% of total kcals
Fat (Triglyceride): 20-35% of total kcalories
Protein: 10-35% of total kcalories

Answer 7

AMDR

Question 8

US Department of Health and Human Services; Food recommendations are issued in two forms by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Answer 8

DHHS (or HHS)

Question 9

Food and Drug Administration; the administration responsible for standardizing labels and claims.

Answer 9

FDA

Question 10

Federal Trade Commission; regulates health claims in food advertising.

Answer 10

FTC

Question 11

National Institutes of Health

Answer 11

NIH

Question 12

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; efforts support public health strategies and programs that improve dietary quality, support healthy child development, and reduce chronic disease.

Answer 12

CDC

Question 13

U.S. Department of Agriculture; issues recommendations; represents many interest groups in the food industry, so they are biased.

Answer 13

USDA

Question 14

The FDA has specific criteria that must be met in order for a label to carry the term “High”, “Low”,
“Good Source”**, etc.

Answer 14

Nutrient Claim

Question 15

Most claims address the most common chronic diseases. Also note that the wording on these claims
must be very specific and must not claim to cure any disease simply by virtue of consuming that
food. Initially, all industry requested
health claims had to meet the standard of “significant scientific agreement” but eventually
pressure mounted for a second category when the claim didn’t meet the SSA criteria. As a
result, we now have different types of claims.

Answer 15

Health Claim

Question 16

This claim can state that a product affects the structure or function of the body – but cannot indicate that the food substance or supplement will prevent, treat, cure, mitigate or diagnose disease. They can be used by food and supplement manufacturers without prior FDA approval.

Answer 16

Structure/Function Claim

Question 17

In order to say that a food is a “Good Source” of, say, fiber, it must contain 10-19% of the D.V. for fiber per
serving. To claim it is “High In” fiber it must have at least 20% of the D.V. Keep in mind that a
food can be a “good source” of a nutrient but still not be very healthy or nutritious.

Answer 17

“Good Source”

Question 18

Nothing artificial or synthetic (including all color additives regardless of source) has been included in, or has been added to, a food that would not normally be expected to be in that food.

Answer 18

Natural

Question 19

“Fat-free” foods must have less than 0.5 gram of fat per serving. “Low-fat” foods must have 3 grams of fat or less per serving. “Reduced-fat” foods must have at least 25% less fat than regular versions of those foods.

Answer 19

Fat Free

Question 20

The practice of deliberately increasing the content of one or more micronutrients (i.e., vitamins and minerals) in a food or condiment to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health.

Answer 20

Fortification

Question 21

The recommended amounts of nutrients to consume or not to exceed each day. The %DV is how much a nutrient in a single serving of an individual packaged food or dietary supplement contributes to your daily diet.

Answer 21

Daily Values

Question 22

Estimated Energy Requirements; different age groups will have different EERs, but these should still be viewed as very non-specific guidelines.

Answer 22

ERR

Question 23

These are authorized after an extensive review of the
literature is conducted and it is determined that there is significant scientific
agreement to support the claim

Answer 23

SSA Heath Claim

Question 24

These claims are put forth when there is limited and
inconclusive evidence to support the claim. In this case, the word “qualified”
means “with caveats or with less certainty” as opposed to “qualified for a job”.
Don’t let this confuse you. The claim must indicate that there is limited evidence
for the claim.

Answer 24

Qualified Health Claims

Question 25

these claims are authorized based on scientific
evidence as interpreted and put forth by an appropriate scientific group within
the US Government or the National Academy of Sciences.

Answer 25

Authoritative Statement Claims

Question 26

A compound deliberately added to foods to enhance taste, texture, or color, improve consistency, improve
nutritional value, provide leavening, etc.

Answer 26

Direct Food Additive

Question 27

Something that gets into the food accidentally during processing.

Answer 27

Indirect Food Additive