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Show Doctor I - i ! in the Kitchen" J"-,-, i by Laurence M. Hursh, M.D. f i - J"K- - ; Consultant, National Dairy Council Lj the new recommended DIETARY ALLOWANCES obesity and heart disea e " would also mean people could De a little freer with their diets and enjoy more food. Other new recommendations include more iron for girls -w years of age and up and menopausal meno-pausal women. (This will be more difficult to achieve on less cai-ories, cai-ories, making food selection even more important). Protein for adults has been lowered slightly. Fat Metabolism The mechanism of fat metabo-lism, metabo-lism, with respect to heart disease, remains in doubt. The Board found the evidence insufficient to make recommendations either as to total amount of fat or the pro-portion pro-portion of polyunsaturated fats in the diet. Thus, the Board does not go along with such public recom-mendations recom-mendations as those advanced by the American Heart Association (that people should on their own change the proportions and amounts of saturated and polyunsaturated poly-unsaturated fats in their diets.) For the first time, the Board has declared fluorine an essential essen-tial dietary nutrient and urges fluoridation of water supplies where needed. The recommendations recommenda-tions for calcium remain the same as before but now are accompanied accom-panied by RDA for phosphorus. Other recommendations include the mineral, iodine, and vitamins A, D, E, K, C, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, B6 and B12. RDA Are Guide It is important to emphasise that the recommendations are guides for groups of people rather ra-ther individuals per se. And they take into account that individuals vary in the way they handle their food. Thus, the RDA are set higher high-er than some persons will need. Remember the RDA are not "requirements" that you have to meet. But they are good goals. An important point to keep in mind is that it must not be assumed as-sumed that an individual will suf-fer suf-fer malnutrition just because his diet doesn't meet the RDA in every respect. Is good nutrition a hit or miss proposition? Undoubtedly, this is the case for many Americans. But it shouldn't be. Nutritionists perfect their knowledge of what we need for good health with each passing year. Still, a shocking number of our people are overweight. And surveys, as imperfect as they may be, indicate that the diets of many adults, and young people, too, are inadequate in certain needed nutrients. By what standards is the adequacy ade-quacy of your diet judged? Most of us have heard of the so-called "recommended dietary allowances." Known, for short, as the RDA, the allowances are standards set by a committee of eminent nutrition scientists. This committee, a quasi-official agency set up to advise both the Federal government and the public on nutritional matters, is the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Na-tional Academy of Sciences-National Research Council. Allowances Revised Recently, the recommended dietary allowances were revised to concur with the latest and best nutrition knowledge we possess. So let's discuss the new recommendations. recom-mendations. Speaking generally, the Board recommended that Americans cut their calories slightly. For a 22 year old, 154 pound male, the reduction re-duction means he should not down more than 2,800 calories per day whereas the last RDA revision (in 1964) allowed him 2,900. An American woman of the same age, and weighing 128 pounds, should hold her calories to 2,000 a day again, 100 calories less than 1964. Recommendations for daily caloric reductions for others in our population go as high as 300 calories. The lowering of the caloric ca-loric recommendations recognizes that American adults are now more sedentary. The Board, however, how-ever, would prefer for Americans to be more physically active. Such activity might protect against |