The Nutrients in GNUtrition

This chapter contains some notes on the nutrients analysed by GNUtrition. They are not a definitive guide, for detailed information refer to a standard text of nutrition or dietetics.

Caveat

When researching the information for the Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs). I found the information conflicting but incomplete, so for some nutrients there may be a European value, a US value, and a UN value. In general, I have chosen the US value, in the hope this will be compatible with the database.

If you know of a good reference for RDIs, I would be eager to hear from you, mail me at

It also should be noted that RDIs are a guide to nutrition, not the definition of it. Individuals may vary from the RDIs provided for many reasons. For example, active people need more energy and protein than inactive people, and illness increases the RDIs for almost everything.

In summary, just because the program spits out a nice column of ``100%'', that doesn't automatically mean you have a healthy diet. The old rules about balance and lots of green vegetables still apply, I'm afraid.