Dietary Reference Intakes
Definitions
Total Fibre
• The sum of Dietary Fibre and Functional Fibre.
Dietary Fibre
• Non-digestible carbohydrates and lignin that are intrinsic and intact in plants.
• Dietary fibre includes plant non-starch polysaccharides (e.g. cellulose, pectin, gums, hemicellulose, β-
glucans, and fibres contained in oat and wheat bran), plant carbohydrates that are not recovered by
alcohol precipitation (e.g. inulin, oligosaccharides, and fructans), lignin, and some resistant starch.
Functional Fibre
• Isolated non-digestible carbohydrates that have been shown to have beneficial physiological effects in
humans.
• Functional fibre includes isolated non-digestible plant (e.g. resistant starch, pectin, and gums), animal
(e.g. chitin and chitosan), or commercially produced (e.g. resistant starch, polydextrose, polyols, inulin,
and indigestible dextrins) carbohydrate.
Physical Activity Level (PAL)
• The ratio of total energy expenditure to basal energy expenditure.
• The Physical Activity Level categories were defined as sedentary (PAL 1.0-1.39), low active (PAL 1.4-
1.59), active (PAL 1.6-1.89), and very active (PAL 1.9-2.5).
• Physical Activity Level should not be confused with the physical activity coefficients (PA values) used in
the equations to estimate energy requirement.
Vitamin E
• The requirement for vitamin E is based on the 2R-stereoisomeric forms of alpha-tocopherol only. This
includes RRR-alpha-tocopherol, which occurs naturally in foods, and the 2R-stereoisomeric forms
(RRR- , RSR- , RRS- , and RSS- forms) that occur in supplements and fortified foods (all racemic
alpha-tocopherol). Other forms of vitamin E do not contribute toward meeting the requirement.
• Previously, vitamin E activity was reported in alpha-tocopherol equivalents (αTE), which included all
forms of vitamin E. Alpha-tocopherol equivalents should be converted to milligrams of alpha-
tocopherol.
• The UL for vitamin E applies to any isomeric form of supplemental alpha-tocopherol.
REFERENCES:
• Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride (1997);
• Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic
Acid, Biotin, and Choline (1998);
• Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids (2000);
• Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron,
Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc (2001);
• Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein and
Amino Acids (2002);
• Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Chloride, and Sulfate (2004).
Available at www.nap.edu