Modern diets are heavy in omega-6 fatty acids, which could potentially lead to issues such as cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Achieving a healthier balance is essential, but how should we approach this balancing act? By eating more omega-3s or reducing omega-6s?
The path to optimal health might not be about popping more pills, but instead about revolutionizing our meals in a way that would make our ancestors proud.
Understanding Omega-6 and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are essential polyunsaturated fats that our bodies cannot produce. Key omega-3 fatty acids include alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Important omega-6 fatty acids are linoleic acid, dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid, and arachidonic acid.Omega-6 fatty acids are involved in cell growth and immune response. They are found in some nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils, such as corn, soybean, sunflower, and safflower. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fatty fish, flaxseeds, and walnuts, play a crucial role in brain function, regulating inflammation, and heart health.
The Modern Diet: An Omega Imbalance
Life expectancy among ancient hunter-gatherers who survived past adolescence was approximately 72 years, similar to that of modern populations, according to a 2018 historical review published in Obesity Reviews. Modern hunter-gatherers, whose diets resemble those of their ancient counterparts, do not suffer from the kinds of chronic diseases seen today, according to a 1988 historical review in Anthropological Commentary.Our ancient ancestors maintained a balanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, estimated at roughly one to one, as reported in a 2002 review in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. In contrast, today’s typical Western diet has a disproportionate ratio, according to a 2021 review in the Journal of Lipids, with an estimated average ratio of 20 omega-6s to one omega-3 for Western diets.
This shift represents one of the most significant nutritional changes in human history, and is associated with a rise in chronic health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
The Consequence of Omega Imbalance
Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are metabolized by the same enzymes, but their lipid mediators have opposing effects—omega-6 derivatives typically promote inflammation and platelet aggregation, which is a necessary step in blood clotting. Omega-3 derivatives counteract those processes and widen blood vessels, according to the review in the Journal of Lipids.While inflammation is a necessary response to injury and infection, chronic inflammation can contribute to numerous health problems. A 2002 review of studies on omega-6 and 0mega-3 in chronic disease, published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, found that the modern diet, with a high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, promotes inflammation, which can lead to diseases including heart disease, cancer, and autoimmune disorders.
Restoring a more balanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in our diets may be a crucial step in addressing these health challenges and promoting overall well-being.
Why Are Our Omega-3s and Omega-6s Unbalanced?
Dr. Chris Knobbe, clinical associate professor emeritus at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, said he believes that the overconsumption of omega-6 fatty acids, primarily from highly processed industrial seed oils, is a significant driver of modern diseases. He points to the historical absence of vegetable oils in diets until the modern era, and notes that their introduction has paralleled the rise in chronic diseases.“The average American is consuming at least one-fourth, and some a third, of their diet as vegetable oils. Remember, they were absolutely zero in 1865. We had no seed oils, no vegetable oils, and a trivial amount of olive oil,” Knobbe told The Epoch Times.
Knobbe, coauthor of “The Ancestral Diet Revolution: How Vegetable Oils and Processed Foods Destroy Our Health—and How to Recover!” wrote that between 1890 and 2016, diabetes increased 4,643-fold in the United States, even though sugar consumption increased only about 2.5-fold. During roughly that same period, vegetable oils increased by 80-fold.
Ancient hunter-gatherers rarely or never consumed cereal grains, whereas modern humans consume roughly 23 percent of their diet from grains, which are generally high in omega-6s and low in omega-3s, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Traditional sources of omega-3s, such as wild fish and animals, have also changed. More than half of seafood production now comes from farming, according to World Bank data. Farmed fish can be fed ingredients high in omega-6s, such as soy, corn, and vegetable oils, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.
In modern agriculture, livestock raised in confined feeding operations are often fed diets made up of corn and soy, both rich sources of omega-6 fatty acids. According to the same 2002 article: 4 percent of the fat of wild animals contains eicosapentaenoic acid, a type of omega-3, whereas domestic beef contains “very small or undetectable” amounts of omega-3s because cattle are fed grains rich in omega-6 and poor in omega-3s.
How to Return to an Omega Balance
Boosting omega-3 fatty acid intake is one solution for rebalancing the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3. Fish oil, a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, is commonly recommended as a dietary intervention to prevent cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association recommends 0.5 grams to 1.8 grams per day of omega-3s, from either fatty fish, such as salmon or sardines, or plants, such as flaxseeds. However, studies on omega-3 fatty acids show mixed results regarding their health benefits.There was a 9 percent reduced risk of cardiac arrest and a 17 percent reduced risk of heart attack in people who increased their intake of omega-3 fatty acids, according to a 2020 meta-analysis of 16 randomized controlled trials published in Pharmacological Research. However, a 2020 placebo-controlled trial published in Circulation Research involving 25,871 healthy men and women suggested that omega-3 supplements didn’t lower the overall risk of heart-related problems. For specific things, though, that same study showed a correlation between omega-3 supplements and fewer heart attacks, both fatal and non-fatal, and fewer blocked arteries requiring stents.
Some studies even report potential harm; A 2024 review in Diagnosis found a 50 percent increase in atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) when study participants took daily omega-3 supplements. Similar research has been done on omega-3 fatty acids and cancer. A prostate cancer prevention study, published in 2011 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, reported that DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid, might increase the risk of high-grade prostate cancer.
However, a 2011 clinical trial reported that achieving an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of two to one slowed cancer progression in prostate cancer patients.
These findings underscore the importance of achieving a better balance of these essential fats in the diet as opposed to supplementing with omega-3s alone.
Peter Osborne, a chiropractor and diplomate with the American Clinical Board of Nutrition, has witnessed health improvements in his patients from omega-3 supplementation combined with dietary changes.
“I’ve seen a number of cases where, by supplementing and diet changes, individuals were able to reduce various health markers, including lowering cholesterol and triglycerides, improving insulin sensitivity, and enhancing blood glucose control,” he told The Epoch Times.
Decreasing Omega-6 Consumption
Reducing omega-6 intake offers multiple benefits in achieving a healthier omega balance.Consuming less omega-6s decreases the need for omega-3s, highlighting the importance of balance. A 2006 study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when people consumed less than 2 percent of their calories from omega-6s, the requirement for omega-3s decreased to one-tenth.
Furthermore, lowering omega-6 intake enhances the body’s ability to convert plant-based omega-3s into more beneficial long-chain omega-3s, a process often impaired by the high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in Western diets.
This improved conversion may explain why some health benefits attributed to omega-3s, such as reduced risk of ischemic stroke, might stem from lowered omega-6 intake.
The study also suggests that the mixed results seen in omega-3 supplementation studies could be a result of not accounting for the underlying high omega-6 levels in participants’ diets.
Knobbe said it’s important to reduce omega-6 consumption, particularly from industrial seed oils.
“Thirteen years of research have led me to believe that the single most important thing we can do for our health is to remove industrial seed oils from our consumption,” he said.
Knobbe listed soybean, corn, canola, rapeseed, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower, rice bran, sesame, and peanut oils as the “worst of the worst” in terms of health effects.
Dietary Strategies to Decrease Omega-6s While Boosting Omega-3s
- Replace vegetable oils high in omega-6s with fats containing more favorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratios, such as olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, tallow, lard, or butter from 100 percent grass-fed cows.
- Replace farmed fish with wild-caught.
- Replace grain-fed livestock with 100 percent grass-fed.
- Replace eggs from chickens raised in confined feeding operations with pasture-raised.
- Reduce grain consumption.
- Reduce processed food consumption.
The Bottom Line
While mainstream advice often promotes increasing omega-3 fatty acids to restore the body’s omega balance, evidence suggests that simply increasing omega-3 intake may not be sufficient, and could be harmful in some situations.A more balanced approach, involving both increased omega-3s and reduced omega-6s through diet, aligns with historical dietary practices and modern research.
