What is the purpose of the daily values of nutrients?

December 2, 2025 •

3 min read

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Daily Values (DVs) are reference amounts of nutrients to consume or not exceed each day, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. This standardized system helps consumers interpret nutrition information and serves as a fundamental tool for understanding what is the purpose of the daily values of nutrients on packaged foods.

Quick Summary

This article explains how Daily Values (DVs) on nutrition labels help consumers make informed food choices. It covers how DVs simplify nutrient information, assist in comparing similar products, and provide context for personal dietary planning based on a 2,000-calorie diet benchmark.

Key Points

Standardized Reference: Daily Values are benchmark percentages based on a standard 2,000-calorie diet, providing a consistent metric for comparing products.
Informed Choices: DVs help consumers quickly assess a food's nutritional contribution to their daily diet, enabling healthier purchasing decisions.
5/20 Rule: A simple guideline where 5% DV is considered low and 20% DV is high, making it easy to identify foods to eat more of (e.g., fiber) or less of (e.g., saturated fat).
Product Comparison: Use DVs to compare the nutrient content of similar food products, ensuring you select options that align with your dietary needs.
Dietary Flexibility: DVs facilitate balancing your daily diet by allowing for strategic 'trade-offs,' where a high-nutrient food can be balanced by low-nutrient choices later in the day.
Composed of RDIs and DRVs: DVs are comprised of Reference Daily Intakes (for vitamins and minerals) and Daily Reference Values (for macronutrients), simplified for consumer use.
Not Individual Recommendations: DVs are for general public health guidance, not individual dietary advice, which should come from a healthcare provider or dietitian.

Demystifying Daily Values on the Nutrition Facts Label

For many, the small table on the back of food packaging, known as the Nutrition Facts label, is a source of confusion. Among the numbers, the percentage figures next to each nutrient, labeled as '% Daily Value' (%DV), can seem particularly opaque. Understanding what is the purpose of the daily values of nutrients is crucial for making informed dietary choices. Put simply, DVs were created by the FDA to help consumers easily understand the nutritional profile of a single serving of a product in the context of a total daily diet.

The Foundational Reference: A 2,000-Calorie Diet

The benchmark for Daily Values is a 2,000-calorie daily diet, established to provide a consistent standard for general nutrition advice. It's important to recognize that this is a general guideline, not a prescriptive recommendation for every individual. Your specific calorie needs may vary based on factors such as age, sex, weight, height, and activity level. However, by basing the %DV on a single, standardized diet, the FDA provides a universal tool that allows for consistent product comparison, which is one of the main purposes of DVs.

For example, if you see that one serving of a cereal provides 25% DV for iron, you know that this single serving contributes a quarter of the recommended daily amount of iron for a person following a 2,000-calorie diet. This helps you balance your iron intake throughout the day by selecting other foods that contribute to the remaining 75%.

How to Use the %DV to Compare Foods

One of the most practical applications of DVs is comparing similar food products. This is made easy by a simple guiding principle known as the '5/20 Rule':

5% DV or less is low: This applies to nutrients you may want to limit, such as saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.
20% DV or more is high: This applies to nutrients you should aim to get more of, like dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, and potassium.

This simple rule allows for a quick evaluation of a product's nutritional quality right in the grocery aisle.

DV vs. Other Nutrient Recommendations

It's important to distinguish the Daily Value from other reference points like the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs). DRIs are comprehensive recommendations often specific to age and gender, while DV is a simplified single reference for labeling. The DV is based on Reference Daily Intakes (RDIs) for vitamins and minerals and Daily Reference Values (DRVs) for macronutrients. These are condensed into 'Daily Value' on the label for clarity.

Comparison of Nutrient Labeling References


Feature	Daily Value (DV)	Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI)
Purpose	Single, universal standard for food labels.	Comprehensive set of nutrient recommendations for specific life stages and genders.
Target Audience	General population (adults and children 4+ years).	Health professionals and researchers for dietary planning.
Basis	Standardized 2,000-calorie diet reference.	Specific to age, gender, and life stage.
Format	%DV on Nutrition Facts panel.	Values expressed as RDA, AI, EAR, and UL.
Flexibility	Simplified for consumer comparison.	More complex and individualized for professional use.

The Importance of DVs in Dietary Trade-Offs

Understanding Daily Values also empowers you to practice dietary trade-offs. You can balance higher-nutrient foods with lower-nutrient options throughout the day. This flexibility makes healthy eating a sustainable practice rather than a strict regimen and promotes an overall balanced diet.

Conclusion

The purpose of the daily values of nutrients is to serve as an accessible and standardized guide for consumers to make informed food decisions. By simplifying complex dietary science, the FDA has provided a powerful tool for comparing products and managing daily nutrient intake. While the 2,000-calorie benchmark is a general reference, using the %DV and the '5/20 Rule' empowers you to balance your diet and move toward your health goals with greater confidence. For more guidance, consult the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's official resources on reading the nutrition label.

Frequently Asked Questions

Daily Values are reference amounts of nutrients set by the FDA based on a standard 2,000-calorie diet. They are derived from two main components: Reference Daily Intakes (RDIs) for vitamins and minerals, and Daily Reference Values (DRVs) for macronutrients like fat and carbohydrates.

The 5/20 Rule is a quick guideline for interpreting the % Daily Value. If a nutrient has a 5% DV or less per serving, it's considered low. If it has a 20% DV or more, it's considered high.

Daily Values are a general reference for the average adult and can guide your food choices. However, they are not personalized dietary recommendations. For tailored advice, it is best to consult a registered dietitian or healthcare provider.

Some nutrients, such as trans fats and total sugars, do not have a % Daily Value. For trans fats, experts found insufficient information to establish a DV. For total sugars, which include naturally occurring and added sugars, no recommendation for daily intake has been set.

DVs provide a consistent yardstick for comparing the nutritional content of similar packaged foods. By checking the %DV, you can quickly determine which product is higher in beneficial nutrients (like fiber) and lower in nutrients you want to limit (like sodium), regardless of different serving sizes or brands.

The Daily Value (DV) is a single, standardized value used on food labels for public guidance. Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) are part of the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), a more comprehensive set of nutrient recommendations that vary by age, gender, and life stage, used primarily by health professionals.

For labeling on products intended for the general population (ages 4 and older), a single set of DVs based on a 2,000-calorie diet is used. However, the FDA has separate sets of DVs for infants, children under 4, and pregnant/lactating women.