Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)

Tolerable upper intake level (UL) is the highest level of daily intake for a specific nutrient that is unlikely to cause harm in almost all people without health conditions.

Summary

The Dietary Reference Intake framework, which is used to plan and assess diets in people with no health conditions, includes several “reference values”. These include the tolerable upper intake level (UL) as well as the estimated average requirement, recommended dietary allowance, and the adequate intake.[1][2][3][4]

The UL for a specific nutrient is the highest daily intake amount of that nutrient that is unlikely to increase the risk of an adverse effect in almost all people without health conditions.[3] As a person’s intake of a specific nutrient increases above the UL, that person has an increased risk of adverse effects.[3]

⚠️ Caution: Tolerable upper intake level values are sometimes misunderstood

The amounts stated in UL tables indicate total daily intake of that specific nutrient from all sources. That includes foods, drinks, supplements, and medications combined.

Additionally, UL values are not intake “targets”. UL values do not indicate the amount of a nutrient that should be consumed. Instead, they are a set of reference values that indicate the highest amount that is unlikely to cause harm.

UL values for specific nutrients can vary between countries and may change as new evidence emerges. UL values for some nutrients are also dependent on sex, age, and pregnancy.[3][1][2][5]

Due to insufficient evidence, a UL value has not been defined for all nutrients. However, the absence of a UL value for a specific nutrient does not rule out that a high intake of that nutrient cannot cause adverse effects.[3] Similarly, when a UL value does exist for a specific nutrient, it should NOT be used as a recommended level of intake because the current evidence does not show additional benefits from intake levels above the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) or adequate intake (AI) levels.[3]

References

1.^Institute of Medicine (US) Subcommittee on Interpretation and Uses of Dietary Reference Intakes, Institute of Medicine (US) Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference IntakesDietary Reference Intakes: Applications in Dietary Planning.(2003)
2.^Institute of Medicine (US) Subcommittee on Interpretation and Uses of Dietary Reference Intakes, Institute of Medicine (US) Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference IntakesDRI Dietary Reference Intakes: Applications in Dietary Assessment.()
4.^EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition, and Allergies (NDA)Scientific Opinion on principles for deriving and applying Dietary Reference Values.EFSA Journal.(2010 March)
5.^Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Use of Dietary Reference Intakes in Nutrition LabelingDietary Reference Intakes: Guiding Principles for Nutrition Labeling and Fortification.()