Nutrition Notes

No matter what type of diet you are on, keeping track of your calorie, vitamin, and mineral intake is important. There is considerable disagreement among nutrition specialists on the appropriate daily intake of each nutrient. While other government agencies continue to research this question, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a list of Daily Values for nutrients that can be considered good targets at the present time.

The Daily Values reflect the recommendation that a healthy diet should have 60% of its calories from carbohydrates, 10% of its calories from protein, and about 30% of its calories from fat.  Within the fat category no more than one third of the calories should come from saturated fat.  This is equivalent to saying that no more than 10% of total calories should come from saturated fat.

The Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet so the Daily Value for carbohydrate is 300 grams, the Daily Value for Protein is 50 grams, and the Daily Value for fat is 65 grams.  Weight is generally a more convenient way to track intake.  Calories can be calculated using the formula that 1 gram of fat contains 9 Calories and 1 gram of carbohydrate or protein contains 4 Calories.

Information on Phosphatidylserine.

Information on Vitamin D.

A special note on calcium: Although the Food and Drug Administration uses a Daily Value for Calcium of 1000 mg, the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, has released more detailed recommendations for calcium based on age.

Adequate Intake levels for Calcium as listed 
by the Institute of Medicine:

These guidelines are based upon calcium from the diet plus any calcium taken in supplemental form. The preferred source of calcium is through calcium-rich foods such as dairy products. Calcium-fortified foods and calcium supplements are other means by which optimal calcium intake can be reached in those who cannot meet this need by ingesting conventional foods.
 
Calcium intake, up to a total intake of 2,000 mg/day, appears to be safe in most individuals.
 
Complete list of Daily Reference Values.  The FDA Daily Values are the numbers that are currently being used on food labels and Nutrition Access Professional uses these values to calculate Percent Daily Values on its reports. For reference, the complete list of FDA Daily Values published June 1999 by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition are listed below.

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Total Fat 65 grams (g)
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Saturated fatty acids 20 grams (g)
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Cholesterol 300 milligrams (mg)
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Sodium 2400 milligrams (mg)
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Potassium 3500 milligrams (mg)
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Total carbohydrate 300 grams (g)
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Fiber 25 grams (g)
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Protein 50 grams (g)
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Vitamin A 5000 International Unit (IU)
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Vitamin C 60 milligrams (mg)
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Calcium 1000 milligrams (mg)
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Iron 18 milligrams (mg)
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Vitamin D 400 International Unit (IU)
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Vitamin E 30 International Unit (IU)
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Vitamin K 80 micrograms (mcg)
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Thiamin 1.5 milligrams (mg)
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Riboflavin 1.7 milligrams (mg)
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Niacin 20 milligrams (mg)
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Vitamin B6 2.0 milligrams (mg)
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Folate 400 micrograms (mcg)
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Vitamin B12 6.0 micrograms (mcg)
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Biotin 300 micrograms (mcg)
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Pantothenic acid 10 milligrams (mg)
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Phosphorus 1000 milligrams (mg)
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Iodine 150 micrograms (mcg)
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Magnesium 400 milligrams (mg)
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Zinc 15 milligrams (mg)
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Selenium 70 micrograms (mcg)
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Copper 2.0 milligrams (mg)
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Manganese 2.0 milligrams (mg)
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Chromium 120 micrograms (mcg)
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Molybdenum 75 micrograms (mcg)
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Chloride 3400 milligrams (mg)
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Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. If your calorie needs are higher or lower than 2000 calories per day then the daily values for carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber would be proportionally higher or lower also. Daily Values for vitamins, minerals, and cholesterol would remain the same.