NUT incorporates
an empirical equation from Dr. William Lands that relates
polyunsaturated fatty acid
consumption to resulting percentages of Omega-6 highly
unsaturated fatty acids
in plasma phospholipids
over the long term.
The NUT reference values are refigured every time you do a reset
from the analysis screen and they take into consideration all the fatty acids in
the diet.
NUT's modus operandi is to accept the user's levels of
dietary Omega-6 fatty acids as 100% and find a balancing level of Omega-3 as
directed by Lands' equation.
When this feature is turned on, you can raise the EPA and DHA percentages
in the analysis either by increasing Omega-3 or
reducing Omega-6 in your diet.
If
you would like to change NUT's target
for the "Omega-6/3 Balance" value, you can do so in "Set Personal Options",
"Essential Fatty Acid Options."
The
maximum amount of EPA+DHA allowed can also be changed.
If the allowed EPA+DHA amount is below the amount
necessary to reach the target, NUT will then show by how much Omega-6
must be lowered.
If you would like to set your own reference values to exactly how you are
eating, do an "e" reset on a characteristic period and then
go to "Set Personal Options", "Essential Fatty Acid Options". Take
"Accept current reference values as absolute amounts", and then when you
come back to
the analysis screen, reset with "m", "n", or "o".
The program comes with Lands' equation turned OFF by default, and in this
case, the maximum amount of EPA+DHA allowed becomes the amount
that satisfies 100% of EPA+DHA in the analysis.
The scatterplot at the right shows actual levels of highly unsaturated fatty
acids in plasma phospholipids for a population sample,
with the first number of the "Omega-6/3 Balance"
value indexed on the bottom axis.
The median values for each type of HUFA
shown in the graph as well as the balance point for EPA and DGLA are all near an
"Omega-6/3 Balance" value of 55/45, which is the target that Lands' group
recommends.
Another goal you will see cited by other groups
is a ratio of AA to EPA of 1.5, which according to the graph appears
to be very near an "Omega-6/3 Balance" value of 40/60.
NUT comes preset with Lands' equation turned off because I personally got so many side-effects from higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and usually felt markedly worse mostly because Omega-3 can raise fasting blood sugar and cause anxiety. For me, the most obvious and unambiguous deficiency symptom for EPA+DHA is a fatalistic depression; for ALA, a mild bronchitis, a less joyful mood, and unruly hair. I have tried to figure my requirement for these nutrients several times under wildly different dietary strategies that included large differences in the amounts of Omega-6. Each time I have clearly seen the maximum amount I could regularly eat without side-effects to average 0.6 grams per day of EPA+DHA and 1.2% of calories from ALA.