Responding to the expansion of scientific knowledge regarding the roles of nutrients in human health, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, in partnership with Health Canada, has updated the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). The title for these guidelines, Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), is the inclusive name given to this new approach. Since 1998, the Institute of Medicine has issued a series of DRIs that offer quantitative estimates of nutrient intakes to be used for planning and assessing diets applicable to healthy individuals in the United States and Canada.DRIs developed for each nutrient or food component include the following information: estimated average requirement and its standard deviation by age and gender; recommended dietary allowance, based on the estimated average requirement and deviation; adequate intake level, where a recommended dietary allowance cannot be based on an estimated average requirement; and, tolerable upper intake levels above which risk of toxicity would increase. Additionally, developed and incorporated into each volume are statistically appropriate methods that provide guidance on the use of reference intakes for assessing dietary adequacy in populations and in developing policy regarding feeding programs, food labeling, and food fortification.The 12 book set includes: "DRI: Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol", "DRI: Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate", "DRI: Guiding Principles Nutrition Labeling and Fortification", "DRI: Applications Dietary Planning", "DRI: Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron", "DRI: Applications in Dietary Assessment", "DRI: Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids", "DRI: Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12", DRI: Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, Fluoride", "DRI: Proposed Definition of Dietary Fiber", "DRI: Proposed Definition Plan for Review Dietary Antioxidants", and "DRI: Risk Assessment Model Establishing Upper Intake Levels".