This is a brief, commented review of the 1998-2000 reports of the Institute of Medicine/Food and Nutrition Board, of the US National Academy of Sciences, particularly that concerning the recommendations for dietary antioxidants. Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) include Recommend Dietary Allowance (RDA), the new Adequate Intakes and the concepts of Upper Tolerable Intake Levels and Estimated Average Requirements. The term RDA therefore has not disappeared and continues to represent the most refined value known for a numerical recommendation. The Dietary Reference Intakes table is an ensemble of Recommended Dietary Allowance that were either updated, complemented with the Canadian Recommended Nutrient Intake, or completed with Adequate Intake values. Upper Tolerable Intake Leved for the antioxidants, except for the carotenoids, have been proposed in a separate table.
nutrients; ingestion; recommendations; diet; food planning
