Food Labels and the FDA

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Food Labels and the FDA

Reference Daily Intake(RDI) and Percent Daily Value (%DV)
Food labels provide information on the nutritional value of food products and compares them to the standards established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). RDI is the number amount recommended for each nutrient in daily consumption. %DV represents the amount of the nutrients a food provides of the days total RDI. Food labels have recently been updated to have even more useful information regarding content. The label has everything important about the food—how big a serving is, how many calories, fats, saturated fats, carbohydrates including sugars and fiber, protein, and vitamin and mineral content it contains. The content is listed not only in gram amount, but also as a percent of the recommended amount (%DV) for an average 2,000-calorie diet based on 60 percent energy from carbohydrates, 10 percent from protein, and 30 percent from fats. (Note these are higher in fat content and lower in protein than the recommended athletic diet.) This 2,000-calorie diet is an established norm that is the basis for the RDI (formerly called the RDA), nutrient values recommended for the average American man and woman.

To compare the FDA's recommended diet with that recommended for you as a healthy athletic woman, as described in the previous section, you should double the amount of protein, lower the amount of fat, and increase the amount of calcium by half. Regarding vitamin and mineral recommendations, the FDA's RDIs are slightly low for folate, iron, and calcium. As is shown in the following chart, this can be corrected by taking a daily multivitamin. If you eat a well-balanced diet, a regular multivitamin will do fine, or you can choose from the many brands of multivitamins marketed for women, which have slightly more iron, folate, and calcium, or multivitamins marketed for "stress," or "performance," which have increased amounts of B vitamins. Being aware of recommended doses not only keeps you healthy, but also will prevent toxic vitamin overdoses.

Recommended Vitamin and Mineral Amounts for Active Women, Content of "Centrum Performance" Multivitamin, and Maximum Healthy Dose

		Recommended	In Centrum	Maximum Dose
Fat-soluble vitamins1	Vitamin A	5,000 IU	5,000 IU	10,000 IU
	Vitamin K	90 mcg	253	4
	Vitamin E	30 IU (9 mg)	30 IU	1,000 mg
	Vitamin D	400 IU	400 IU	2,000 IU
Water-soluble Vitamins	Vitamin C	75 mg	60 mg	2 g
	Thiamin	1.5 mg	1.5 mg	4
	Riboflavin	1.7 mg	1.7 mg	4
	Niacin	20 mg	20 mg	35 mg
B Vitamins	B6	50 mg	2 mg	200 mg
	Folate	400 mcg	400 mcg	1,000 mcg
	B12	50 mcg	6 mcg	100 mcg
	Biotin	300 mcg	30 mcg	10 mg
	Pantothenic Acid	10 mg	10 mg	10 g
Minerals	Calcium2	1,000 mg2	162 mg2	2,500 mg
	Magnesium	600 mg	100 mg	4
	Iron	18 mg	18 mg	45 mg
	Zinc	15 mg	15 mg	40 mg

¹Fat-soluble vitamins are stored by the body and can be overdosed (vs. water-soluble).

²The standards for calcium intake and content of Centrum are lower than the female athlete's needs.

³Do not supplement extra vitamin K.

⁴Not established.