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An increasing number of food labels carry ‘Guideline Daily Amount’ (GDA) nutrition information or ‘Daily Values’. These figures are a guide to how much of certain nutrient you should be having each day. Most food labels also tell you how much of certain key nutrients are in a serving (or portion) of the food. By having the GDA or Daily Value alongside the amount of nutrient in the food you can compare what is in the food to your guideline amount. Many labels also do this comparison for you as a percentage figure. For example, if a food contains 10 grams of fat per portion and the GDA or Daily Value for fat is 70 grams, then the percentage of your GDA, or Daily Value, provided by a portion of that food is 14 per cent. By using GDAs , you can tell more easily which foods are particularly high in certain nutrients and the information can help you track your total intake of these nutrients over the day.
The GDAs for adults shown in the Table below have been developed for the average adult who wants some idea of how much of each nutrient they should be eating each day for optimum health and for weight maintenance.
Gaynor presenting a GDA poster at the Nutrition Congress in South Africa in 2008