In plain words
An Adequate Intake, or AI, is a daily nutrient amount that scientists set when they lack enough evidence to set a firm requirement. It is a guide, not a minimum you must hit each day. The number comes from the amount that appears to keep most healthy people well. Pregnancy and breastfeeding each have their own AIs for some nutrients, such as . Many mothers do not reach every AI through food alone. A registered dietitian can look at your eating pattern, and your provider can order tests where they are needed. An AI is different from a , which is set when the evidence is stronger. Neither number is a diagnosis.
The deeper version
Adequate Intakes are part of the set by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. An AI is used when the evidence is insufficient to derive an Estimated Average Requirement and therefore a Recommended Dietary Allowance. It is set from observed or experimentally determined intake in healthy populations. Pregnancy and lactation AIs for choline exist in the 1998 DRIs. In NHANES analyses, most pregnant women in the United States fall below the choline AI. Substantial proportions also fall short from food for iron, vitamin D, vitamin E, , and fiber (Bailey and colleagues, 2019, JAMA Network Open). The controversy is whether AIs should be replaced by evidence-based requirements, and whether supplements close gaps without pushing some intakes above upper limits.
Where it comes up
- What to eat in pregnancy: the short versionPregnancy: Eating
- Choline: the nutrient nobody mentionsPregnancy: Eating
- Drinking enough waterPregnancy: Eating
- Hydration while breastfeedingNourishment and Traditions
What mothers here say about Adequate Intake
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — Dietary Reference Intakes for Choline (2016) and the DRI framework
- Bailey RL and colleagues, JAMA Network Open — Nutrient gaps and supplement use among US pregnant women (2019)