DRIs: Essential Tool in Healthy Diet Planning & Assessment - Essay Sample

Itnroduction

DRIs important consideration in the planning and assessment of a healthy diet. DRIs is the lowest intake level of a nutrient consumed by an individual required to maintain normal physiological functions in the body (Adriaanse et al. 185). The criteria for determining the adequacy of nutrients in the body depends on the amount of DRIs. DRIs is a crucial tool or approach to ensuring effective diet planning. The diet planning principles necessitate for the consumption of a diet with a lot of plenty of nutrients and a limited amount of calories. For example, the agreement between the determination of nutritional status and dietary intake may not be appropriate in undertaking appropriate nutritional intake. This paper provides comprehensive information on about the primary considerations to be initiated while ensuring effective nutritional planning.

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The Purpose of DRIs and RDAs in Diet planning

DRIs is a crucial tool/consideration in the planning and assessment of a healthy diet. The DRIs used in the United States of America is standard because it has been applied in different countries to determine nutrient requirements for their citizens. DRIs is the lowest intake level of a nutrient consumed by an individual required to maintain healthy physiological functions in the body. The criteria for determining the adequacy of nutrients in the body depends on the amount of DRIs. The principles used in setting the appropriate DRIs in America has been applied in most parts of the world. DRIs is a crucial tool or approach to ensuring effective diet planning. The diet planning principles necessitate for the consumption of a diet with a lot of plenty of nutrients and a limited amount of calories.

RDA is the average of daily dietary intake that is needed to meet the nutritional requirement of a healthy individual (Adriaanse et al. 185). The RDA values depend on the age and gender of the people in a population. The RDAs values for healthy communities usually ranges from 97 to 98 per cent (Adriaanse et al. 189). According to diet planning principles, the benefits of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) usually represent the increasing quantities of the nutrients supplied by the served foods (Brown 12). The DRIs values include the supplements and nutrients added to the foods to improve its composition. The benefits of DRIs and RDAs are based on daily dietary intakes because they vary depending on the composition of the meals. The DRIs typically used in planning the diet for the healthy population because they do not require nutrient supplements in their foods. Also, DRIs is used to determine if RDAs is necessary for planning diets for the malnourished people in a particular demographic group. Also, DRIs is useful in promoting effective diet planning for sick people based on their disease states.

Nutritional Facts Panel and How They Are Used in Diet Planning

In most cases, people examine food labels to avoid the consumption of unhealthy food. It is crucial to understand how to interpret and use the information in the food labels for practical diet planning purposes. Nutritional facts guide people on how to balance all types of nutrients to avoid food with a lot of calories and cholesterol. Using the food labels as directed will contribute to the selection of healthy diets that does not increase the risks of lifestyle conditions like obesity, diabetes mellitus, and high blood pressure (Hu et al. 554). The daily values are used to determine the required serving size, nutrient information, and calories. For instance, the regular benefits contain the minimum requirement for calories in diets. In most cases, healthy foods include 2, 000 to 2, 500 calories (Brown 43). Regulation of calories is essential in preventing the risks of developing obesity and other related conditions.

The required calorie levels are distributed based on the type of diets consumed by an individual. Carbohydrates are the leading foods that contribute high amounts of calories; therefore, its intake must be regulated to attain healthy living. The daily values also provide for the list of foods to be limited. For example, the intake of fats is limited to prevent consumption of a lot of cholesterol that can lead to cardiac problems. Usually, the larger packages of foods have a footnote that provides the required levels of calories contained by specific nutrient. In most cases, the reference at the bottom of the container offers required dietary information about the essential nutrients that include carbohydrate, sodium, fiber, and fats. Some specific sections are colored in the nutritional facts labels to guide all users towards considering the importance of adhering to the diet planning principles.

The Diet Planning Principles

Diet planning principles provide fundamental guidance in promoting the consumption of healthy food (Hu et al. 562). The first principle is the balance that requires people to consume a balanced diet. In this case, a balanced diet must contain all the essential nutrients that include carbohydrate, vitamins, proteins, lipids, and fiber at the required proportions. The second principle is adequacy because people are expected to consume foods with adequate amounts of all the nutrients in the diets. The most crucial principle of diet planning is the ability to control calories in the diet. Foods with too many calories must be regulated. In most cases, it is required to take meals with a lot of nutrients but limited to the level of calories.

The 2010 and 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Diseases Prevent

The 2010 and 2015 Dietary guidelines for the United States of America recommend people to eat foods that do not increase the risks of developing nutritional disorders (Brown 18). The foods that are recommended under the guidelines include lean meat, unsalted nuts, and poultry. Also, the Americans are required to consume foods with low levels of fats to prevent the accumulation of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), which is bad cholesterol. Dairy products are the primary source of the High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), which is considered as the good cholesterol in the body. Vegetables, grains, fruits and oils are also recommended in the 2010 and 2015 American Dietary Guidelines (Kreausukon et al. 448).

The 2010 guidelines had also included a vegetarian option of the USDA Food Patterns, but unlike the new pattern, it did not involve changes in actual food group composition and amounts. The 2015 guidelines offer the recommend levels of various groups of foods with calorie values between 1,000 and 3,200 in a day per (Hu et al. 570). The guidelines relate to the internationally accepted Mediterranean style of eating. A Mediterranean pattern is a healthy approach because it includes more sea-foods, nuts, vegetables, and fruits (Kreausukon et al. 448). Some of the diseases intended to prevent from applying the 2010 and 2015 Dietary guidelines in America include diabetes mellitus, and cardiac problems like high blood pressure and myocardial infarction caused by the accumulation of cholesterol in body tissues (Kreausukon et al. 448).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the dietary planning principles and assessment tools like RDAs and DRIs should be applied to prevent and minimize the cases of nutritional disorders like diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, and myocardial infarction. The criteria used in setting the appropriate DRIs in America has been applied in most parts of the world because it recommends the consumption of foods with limited amounts of cholesterol and calories. The government should establish appropriate guidelines that help in regulating the consumption of unhealthy foods to prevent the prevalence of nutritional disorders or diseases.

Works Cited

Adriaanse et al. "Do Implementation Intentions Help to Eat a Healthy Diet? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Empirical Evidence." Appetite 56.1 (2011): 183-193. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666310005325

Brown, Amy Christine. "Understanding Food: Principles and Preparation". Cengage Learning, 2018.Retrieved from: https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=BhBEDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=diet+planning+principles&ots=8bGmc0O6ng&sig=jPtS5agGpH6H0mfr9TiemVA_4Dg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=diet%20planning%20principles&f=false

Hu, F. B., Y. Liu, and W. C. Willett. "Preventing Chronic Diseases by Promoting Healthy Diet and Lifestyle: Public Policy Implications for China." Obesity Reviews 12.7 (2011): 552-559.Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2011.00863.x

Kreausukon, Pimchanok, et al. "Planning and Self-efficacy can Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: a Randomized Controlled Trial." Journal of Behavioral Medicine 35.4 (2012): 443-451. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10865-011-9373-1