What is Daily Value?
Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. While detailed, the article provided is not inclusive of all information on the subject. It is not intended to treat or cure any ailment, condition, or disease. The link to the sources are listed below.
You tear open a wrapper for a crunchy granola bar and grab a bottle of water from the fridge for a snack. For dinner tonight, you are cooking lasagna using noodles, spaghetti sauce, cheese, and ground beef. Take a closer look at the packaging - notice the label? When you look at the Nutrition Facts Label, there is a list of nutrients with percentages. 20%, 5%, 10%...what does this mean and how does it affect you? Read below to understand more about daily value and percent daily value.
What is Daily Value?
The Daily Value is not a percentage but the recommended amount of a particular nutrient to consume per day based on a 2000 kcal diet.¹ Daily Value is created by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The amount selected for the Daily Value is similar to the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) and Adequate Intake (AI) guidelines. The RDA is defined as the daily amount of nutrients that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of 97-98% of healthy individuals; the AI guidelines are developed when there is not enough information to develop an RDA but are assumed to meet nutritional adequacy.¹
The Daily Value uses one value to encompass the RDA or AI guidelines for food and supplement labels.¹ It is categorized based on age: 0-12 months, 1-3 years, and ≥4 years old.¹Pregnant and lactating women are also categorized due to increased needs.¹ The following are RDA values for children and adults ≥4 years old:
What is Percent Daily Value?
Percent Daily Value represents the portion (percent) of the Daily Value for each nutrient listed on a food or supplement label per serving size.² Since Daily Value is based on a 2000 kcal diet, the percent Daily Value is also based on a 2000 kcal diet. The Daily Value percentages used on food and supplement labels use Daily Value recommendations for children and adults > 4 years old unless the food items are intended for younger individuals (ex: baby food).
The percent Daily Value is calculated by dividing the total amount of a particular nutrient used or consumed by daily value recommendations and multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. The total amount used/consumed can be determined by multiplying the amount of nutrient per serving by servings per container used/consumed (if the serving size measurement used is the same as on the label). Let’s look at two examples to understand.
Example 1:
1.) A granola bar contains 2 grams of fiber per serving. The serving size is 1 bar. You ate one granola bar. What is the percent Daily Value of fiber consumed?
Answer: The percent daily value is 7.1% or 7%.
Explanation: The total amount consumed is 2 grams. The daily value for dietary fiber is 28 grams.
2 g / 28 g = 0.071.
Multiply by 100 (0.071 x 100) to get 7.1%.
Example 2:
2.) An 8-ounce bag of mozzarella cheese contains 3.5 grams of saturated fat per serving. The serving size is ¼ cup, and the servings per container is 8. You use the whole bag to make lasagna. A.)What is the percent Daily Value for one serving, and B.) What is the percent Daily Value of the amount used (the whole bag)?
Answer:
A.) The percent Daily Value for one serving (¼ cup) is 17.5%.
Explanation: The total amount used is 3.5 grams because one serving (¼ cup) is used. The daily value for saturated fat is 20 grams.
3.5 g / 20 g = 17.5%.
B.) The percent Daily Value for the whole bag is 140%.
Explanation: This is calculated by:
1. Multiplying the amount per serving (3.5 grams per 1 serving) by servings per container (8 servings per container) to get the total amount used. The 8 ounces of cheese is not relevant to the question.
3.5 x 8 = 28 grams.
2. Divide the total amount used (28 grams) by daily value (20 grams for saturated fat) and multiply by 100.
28 / 20 = 1.4. 1.4 x 100 = 140%.
It is possible and common for amounts used to exceed the Daily Value recommendations.
What if I am not on a 2000 kcal diet?
No matter how many calories you consume, you can calculate the Daily Value and percent Daily Value.
To calculate a custom Daily Value for a diet other than 2000 kcals, multiply the Daily Value recommendations by the determined calorie allotment and divide by 2000.
Example 3:
The tomato-based pasta sauce contains potassium. The Daily Value of potassium is 4700 milligrams. You follow a 1500 kcal diet. What is the Daily Value of potassium for a 1500 kcal diet?
Answer: The daily value of potassium for a 1500 kcal diet is 3525 mg.
1. 4700 mg x 1500 = 7,050,000.
2. 7,050,000 / 2000 = 3525 grams
This means that the recommended daily value for the individual is 3525 grams on a 1500 kcal diet instead of 4700 grams on a 2000 kcal diet.
The percent Daily Value can be calculated using the custom Daily Value (based on your determined calorie allotment). Divide the total amount used/consumed by the custom Daily Value and multiply by 100 for a percentage. Let’s add to the example above:
Example 4:
A jar of pasta sauce contains 370 milligrams of potassium per ½ cup serving. The jar contains 5 servings. You use 2 cups or 4 servings. How much is the % Daily Value of 4 servings based on a 1500 kcal diet?
Answer: To solve this, you must first calculate the total amount of the nutrient used.
1. To calculate the total amount of nutrient used, multiply the amount of nutrient used per serving by the serving per container used. 370 mg x 4 servings = 1480 mg of potassium.
2. Divide the total amount used by custom Daily Value (1500 kcal diet) and multiply by 100 for percentage. 1480 mg / 3525 mg = 0.418. 0.418 x 100 = 41.9%.
This means that using 4 servings of pasta sauce provides ~42% of the Daily Value of potassium for a 1500 kcal diet compared to ~31% on a 2000 kcal diet.
What is considered high or low?
A Daily Value of ≤ 5% is considered low, and a daily value of ≥ 20% is considered high.²
How can I track my percent Daily Value for multiple snacks and meals?
To calculate the percent Daily Value for snacks manually, add the total amount of nutrients consumed per serving (amount listed next to the nutrients on the Nutrition Facts Label) and divide by your custom Daily Value. Do this for each snack, and add the percent Daily Values together.
If you follow a 2000 kcal diet, you can add the percentages found on the Nutrition Facts Label of all snacks to determine the total percent Daily Value consumed. However, remember to adjust based on the servings consumed. If the Nutrition Facts Label is not provided, use a nutrient analyzer such as the USDA’s Food Database to acquire the amount of nutrients per serving.
Calculating the percent Daily Value for meals requires each ingredient's nutrition information. However, the process is the same. To calculate manually, add the total amount consumed per serving for each nutrient selected and divide by your custom Daily Value or use the percentages on the Nutrition Facts Label to track. Continue this process for each ingredient and add until all ingredients are calculated for the recipe.
If the meal is divided into more than one serving, divide the percent Daily Values by the amount of servings in order to determine how much was consumed. Use the USDA Food Database or other databases for ingredients without a Nutrition Facts Label to determine the amount of nutrients per serving. Calculating the percent Daily Value manually can be tedious. There are many nutrition analyzer tools available online that can compile nutrient data for multiple foods and provide a nutritional analysis. A free tool that I recommended is https://recipecard.io/recipe-nutrition-analyzer/#app.
Custom Daily Value and Percent Daily Value Calculator
I created an Excel sheet calculator to help you determine your Daily Value and percent Daily Value based on the amount of calories you eat a day! Download and open the Excel sheet below and follow the instructions provided.
Sources:
1. https://ods.od.nih.gov/HealthInformation/dailyvalues.aspx
2. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/daily-value-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels
