Linoleic acid recommended dietary intakes

LA, linoleic acid ALA, a-linolenic acid DHA, docosahexaenoic acid ERA, eicosapentaenoic acid TRANS-FA, frans-fatty acids SAT, saturated fatty acids MONOs, monounsaturated fatty acids. Reproduced with permission from Simopoulos AP, Leaf A, and Salem N Jr (1999) Essentiality of and recommended dietary intakes for omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 43 127-130. 

If sufficient scientific evidence is not available to calculate an Estimated Average Requirement, a reference intake called an Adequate Intake (Al) is used instead of a Recommended Dietary Allowance. The Al is a value based on experimentally derived intake levels or approximations of observed mean nutrient intakes by a group (or groups) of healthy people. The Al for children and adults is expected to meet or exceed the amount needed to maintain a defined nutritional state or criterion of adequacy in essentially all members of a specific healthy population LA = linoleic acid LNA = n-linolenic acid DHA = docosahexaenoic acid EPA = eicosapentaenoic acid TRANS-EA = trans fatty acids SAT = saturated fatty acids MONOs = monounsaturated fatty acids. 

The AI for men and women for fat is 1.6 and 1.1 g of a-linolenic acid daily, respectively, and for linoleic acid is 17 g/day for adult men and 12 g/day for adult women. Overall, fat should represent no more than 20% to 35% of total calories with the recommendation that saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, and dietary cholesterol intake be kept as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet. As mentioned previously, fat intake in children less than 2 years of age is critical for proper central nervous system growth and development therefore, no fat restriction (e.g., skim milk) should be imposed until after the age of 2 years. 

Because a Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) cannot be determined, an Adequate Intake (AI) has been estimated for co-3 (a-hnolenic acid) and co-6 (linoleic add) fatty adds. The AIs for a-linolenic add for men and women older than 19 years are 1.6 and 1.1 g/day, respectively, and the AIs for hnoleic acid for men and women 19 to 50 years are 17 and 12 g/day, respectively for men and women older... 

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