REVIEW AND BASES OF THE NEW DIETARY REFERENCE INTAKES (RDIS) FOR CALCIUM

Abstract

The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), were published from 1941 to 1989 by the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. In 1997 the Recommended Dietary Intakes (RDIs) were revised by the Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes of the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences with the involvement of Health Canada. Regarding calcium, there is no biochemical assay that reflects nutritional status. Therefore, maximal calcium retention – determined from balance studies– was used as the primary indicator of adecuacy, because it reflects changes in skeletal calcium stores in relation to the dietary calcium intake. However, there are methodological limitations in determining with accuracy an Estimated Average Requirement, and the dietary calcium intakes needed for maximal calcium retention in all age groups could not be derived with sufficient confidence. Thus, an Adequate Intake (AI) was estimated pending the development of a more comprehensive data base.