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The Huron County Health Unit employs a Public Health Dietitian to provide education and support to community partners and health care providers on nutrition related topics. Some of the resources the health unit dietitian can provide includes:
- Information on nutrition programs and services (local, provincial, federal and international),
- Fact sheets and local nutrition resources, and
- Support to implement develop and implement healthy policies and environmental supports.
Disclaimer: The Public Health Dietitian cannot provide individual medical advice.
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs)
The Dietary Reference Intakes Tables are a comprehensive set of nutrient reference values for healthy populations. They are established by Canadian and American scientists with the U.S. National Academies, an independent non-governmental body. Health Canada uses DRIs as the basis for their nutrient recommendations.
Dietary Reference Intakes are based on current scientific knowledge of amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, like fibre, we need to prevent deficiencies and reduce risk for chronic disease. They can be used for assessing and planning individual diets.
- Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the average daily dietary intake of a nutrient that meets the needs of 97-98% of healthy persons. This number is used as the goal for individuals.
- Adequate Intake (AI) is established when there is not enough data to develop a RDA; it's based on experimental data.
- Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) is the highest amount of the nutrient which, if consumed daily, is unlikely to cause adverse health effects for most individuals. As intakes increase above this level, risk of adverse effects increases.
The DRIs are for healthy populations and may not be appropriate in therapeutic situations. A referral to a registered dietitian may be appropriate to assessing current dietary intake and make recommendations.
A Consumer's Guide to the DRIs provides a brief description for the general public.
Help Spread the Word
EatRight Ontario offers three easy ways to access healthy eating, food and nutrition information and advice:
- Call and EatRight Ontario Dietitian toll-free at 1.877.510.5102
- Email questions to a Registered Dietitian
- Search online at www.eatrightontario.ca
EatRight Ontario answers questions for the general public and for health care providers and is available to all Ontario residents Monday through Friday 9AM - 5PM and Tuesday and Thursday evenings until 9PM.
Contact Information
For more information on food and nutrition or the services that the health unit offers, please contact us.
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