Historical perspectives on the impact of n-3 and n-6 nutrients on health, by Bill Lands.

Here's Fig. 1. from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163782714000253

Relating tissue HUFA balance with blood cholesterol and heart attacks. Results from the 25-year follow-up in the Seven Countries Study [35] were discussed in an earlier review [10] which noted that “Food energy imbalances which elevate blood cholesterol may be fatal only to the degree that omega-6 (n-6) exceeds omega-3 (n-3) in tissue HUFA. Such evidence raises questions about the hypothesis that blood cholesterol levels cause CHD.” Northern Europe and Southern Europe have abbreviations “No.” and “So.”, respectively. The Figure is reprinted with permission of the publisher.

Hat-tip to Dr. Thomas Dayspring for Tweeting this review.

Fig. 1 is interesting, as it shows a significant association between 25-year CHD mortality and Serum Total Cholesterol for every region except Japan. What's different about Japan, compared to Northern Europe, USA, Serbia, Southern Europe & Crete?

According to Measuring Blood Fatty Acids as a Surrogate Indicator for Coronary Heart Disease Risk in Population Studies , Philippines & Iceland have lower % linoleic acid than Japan. Where's the CHD vs TC data?

Could another difference be that the Japanese eat rice, a relatively intact grain, instead of foods made from wheat grain dust (i.e. flour) as their main source of dietary carbohydrates?

See also Using 3–6 differences in essential fatty acids rather than 3/6 ratios gives useful food balance scores , and Omega 3-6 Balance Score.

Some thoughts on the essentiality of dietary carbohydrates.

I didn't know that there's a watch strap called Essentiality. I do, now.

From https://svpply.com/item/3229602/Swatch_Skin_Collection_Silver_Essentiality

This is a book-marking post for thoughts I had in https://www.facebook.com/TheFatEmperor/posts/1442430506020812.

"The human body does not need carbohydrates from an external food source, because it is capable of very precisely and correctly assembling its own amounts of glucose that is needed in very small amounts for auxiliary and specialized functions." - Igor Butorski.

1) It's not very precise. See http://nigeepoo.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/how-eating-sugar-starch-can-lower-your.html

2) It's not enough to fuel high-intensity exercise. See http://nigeepoo.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/funny-turns-what-they-arent-and-what.html

3) Using the above argument, the human body does not need saturated fats & monounsaturated fats from an external food source, because it is capable of very precisely and correctly assembling its own amounts of saturated fats & monounsaturated fats (out of carbohydrate) that are needed in very small amounts for auxiliary and specialized functions.

If we only consumed Essential Fatty Acids, Essential Amino Acids, Vitamins, Minerals, Fibre/Fiber, Water & Anutrients, there wouldn't be much to eat. Also, there wouldn't be a source of chemical energy to generate heat energy & mechanical energy. That's what dietary carbohydrates & fats are for.

Respiratory Exchange Ratio/Respiratory Quotient (RER/RQ) varies with carbohydrate & fat intake, as the body preferentially oxidises the fuel that's most readily available.

RER/RQ varies with Exercise Intensity.
Low-intensity exercise results in mostly fats being oxidised.
High-intensity exercise results in mostly carbohydrates being oxidised.
Medium-intensity exercise results in a mixture of fats & carbohydrates being oxidised.