Table 2.

Estimated mean daily branched chain fatty acids (BCFA) consumption per capita in the US, based on actual and recommended^a consumption of milk, cheese, and beef

Food	Actuala		Recommendeda
	Portion (g)	BCFAb (mg)	Portion (g)	BCFAb (mg)
Milkc	119	54	215	98
Cheesed	30	168	53	297
Beefe	50	180	50	180
Total	199	402	318	575

Intake data estimation based on reference [37]

^aActual consumption reflects the current consumption from milk, cheese and beef by Americans, which falls below recommended levels from the milk food group. Recommended consumption represents the levels of BCFA consumption that would obtain if Americans were to consume recommended amounts from the milk food group, keeping the same existing patterns as the actual consumption. For beef, the actual consumption was considered as the recommended one. Thus, the same value for beef was used for both

^bBCFA branched chain fatty acids

^cMean, per capita, milk consumption, based on the proportions currently consumed by Americans of 3.25, 2, and 1% milk

^dCheese types included in the analysis are the main cheeses consumed by Americans. An average of 28% fat was used for estimation [30]. Amounts are based on patterns of current consumption of cheese

^eFor cooked beef, an average of 18% fat was used for estimation [30]. Americans consume enough from the meat food group, thus the actual and the recommended consumption were the same