Difference between revisions of "Template:NutrientUnit"

Latest revision as of 03:46, 14 December 2015

The units in which the quantity of the nutrient is specified. The unit is usually a ratio consisting of one fundamental or a derived unit divided by another. Examples of compound units are: mg/kg or mcal/kg. Percentage, which is the ratio of the specified nutrient to the whole result is the most commonly used unit.

Specifying a nutrient's value as a percentage, however, does not mean the the nutrient's percentage of the whole is ever calculated. The solution is reached by combining the quantities found in each ingredient in the solution. So if corn has 10% protein and the formula calls for at least 20%, then corn (if it is to end up in the solution) must be combined with other ingredients having more than 20% protein, so that the average percentage of protein in the solution is at least 20%.

Nutrients that have their units specified as a percentage can easily total more than 100% in the solution, because nutrients (unlike ingredients) can overlap each other. Protein, for example, overlaps the individual amino acids.

The units of one nutrient have nothing to do with the units of another nutrient (as far as the program is concerned). The units of the nutrients in the solution do not have to add up to anything. In contrast, the percentages of the ingredients minimums in the formula cannot exceed 100% and, when the status of the solution is Optimal Solution Reached, the actual percentages always add up to 100%.

A nutrient minimum of, say, 1800 mg/kg of choline, can be thought of as order for that much choline. A feasible solution must provide at 1800 mg/kg choline, regardless of what other nutrients are specified.

Some units specify kilogram (kg) as the denominator (e.g., mcal/kg). To allow you to use pound based units, Tower Grove Feed provides alternative set of nutrients (with "- lb" as a suffix) that use pound-based rather than kilogram-based units.