The right plan for PUFAs

Diet and Nutrition
1

I’ve seen two “paleo-esque” plans for the PUFA content of a diet.

Approach 1: “moderate” omega 6s in the realm of 12-18 grams a day, and high omega 3s, 6-8 grams a day.

Approach 2: Low and Low: Omega 6s under 7 gs average, but omega 3s at only 2-4 grams a day.

The idea of the second model is that any excess PUFAs are bad for cells, and the main reason we need 6-8 grams of W-3s is to cancel out some of the effects of 12-18 grams of W-6s, but that if the W-6s are kept down around 7 (maybe 5-12 range) then all of the extra W-3 become unnecessary.

Another problem I have with approach 1 is, how does one get 6-8 grams of W-3s per day anyway. The best data I can find suggests that 100gs of fatty salmon has about 1.5 grams of W-3s. That would require eating 12-16 oz a day every day, or getting more from other sources. A gram of fish oil claims to have .3 g of W-3s though, and 100gs of has around 10 grams of total fat so maybe 100gs of Salmon has more than 1.5 grams of W-3. If the fat had the same proportion as fish oil it would be more like 3 grams per 100 grams.

Anway, if you had to choose, would you use approach 1 or 2?

2

I would choose both. Some days, low/low, and some days moderate/high. But then again, I don’t count my macros, I just don’t eat a lot of O-6, and I make sure to eat some O-3, and leave it at that. The body is highly adaptable.

3

I have read up on Flameout, and it seems like a perfect supplement. With normal fish oil it takes 10 grams to get 3 grams of W-3s, and over half of that is EPO (about 1.4 EPO and 1.2 DHA, and some shorter length W-3s) .

With Flameout, it only takes about 5.5 grams to get 3 grams of W-3s, which also means fewer gelatin capsules, and the 3 grams is all long W-3s, and 2.2 gs DHA, which needs to be higher for men. You get about twice the long W-3s per gram and 4 time the DHA per gram.

So 4 Flameout looks like it will put you at the right balance and at about 3 grams a day, which is dead center perfect if you keep your total PUFAs under 10.

I don’t eat added W-6 oils, but I sometimes get 1 or 2 grams in prepared, or if I eat at Chipotle I am sure that I get 3-5 grams from the marinade and rice and veggies.

I have read that there seems to be an effect of eating fish independent of the W-3s, but you need to eat about 8 ounces of salmon to get 3 grams, and I don’t want to eat that much fish all the time, but if I get 24 ounces a week, plus some eggs, I’m probably around 4.5 grams a day. I’d like to be at 3-4, so I might cut back by 1-2 Flameout if I eat fish on that day, and might add 1-2 if I happen to get some W-6s from some food source.

4

[quote]mertdawg wrote:
I have read up on Flameout, and it seems like a perfect supplement. With normal fish oil it takes 10 grams to get 3 grams of W-3s, and over half of that is EPO (about 1.4 EPO and 1.2 DHA, and some shorter length W-3s) .

With Flameout, it only takes about 5.5 grams to get 3 grams of W-3s, which also means fewer gelatin capsules, and the 3 grams is all long W-3s, and 2.2 gs DHA, which needs to be higher for men. You get about twice the long W-3s per gram and 4 time the DHA per gram.

So 4 Flameout looks like it will put you at the right balance and at about 3 grams a day, which is dead center perfect if you keep your total PUFAs under 10.

I don’t eat added W-6 oils, but I sometimes get 1 or 2 grams in prepared, or if I eat at Chipotle I am sure that I get 3-5 grams from the marinade and rice and veggies.

I have read that there seems to be an effect of eating fish independent of the W-3s, but you need to eat about 8 ounces of salmon to get 3 grams, and I don’t want to eat that much fish all the time, but if I get 24 ounces a week, plus some eggs, I’m probably around 4.5 grams a day. I’d like to be at 3-4, so I might cut back by 1-2 Flameout if I eat fish on that day, and might add 1-2 if I happen to get some W-6s from some food source. [/quote]

Yes, you have to look at food intakes from a weekly (or better yet, biweekly) perspective.

I remember stressing about getting the right amounts of PUFA’s and MUFA’s every single day and including some SFA’s. I even had a damn Excel sheet. In the end, it’s what you eat on average over a longer period of time that matters.

That said, 4 Flameout a day is just too easy. I like knowing my EFAs are well taken care of so I can be a bit more free spirited with the rest.