If you are like most health-conscious Americans, you know about the health benefits of monounsaturated fats, found in foods such as canola and olive oils, avocados and almonds. These fats stay liquid at room temperature and have significant health benefits. But the polyunsaturated fats, omega-3 and omega-6, are just as important and have similar significant health benefits when you eat them in the proper ratio.
Omega-6 Foods
The normal American diet includes too much omega-6, with an emphasis on meats, processed foods and oils such as soybean, corn, sunflower and cottonseed. Other foods high in omega-6 include pistachios, olive oil and olives. Eliminate or cut back on those foods to help reduce omega-6 levels. Foods that are naturally low in omega-6 fats include fruits and vegetables; beans; low-fat turkey slices; egg whites; lean fish such as tilapia, snapper and cod; and low omega-6 oils such as macadamia nut, coconut, butter and fat-free mayonnaise.
Omega-3 Foods
Choose all kinds of fatty fish to get the most omega-3 fats in your diet. Fresh or canned tuna or salmon, trout and sardines are good choices, but eat tuna and farmed-raised salmon only once a month to reduce consumption of mercury and other toxins. Other foods high in omega-3 include flaxseed, walnuts and walnut oil, canola oil and chia seeds.
The Right Balance
Most Americans eat 10 to 30 times as much omega-6 fats as omega-3 fats, according to Dr. Linda Posch, writing for the Savvy Vegetarian website. Posch recommends a more properly balanced diet that includes a ratio of 1 part omega-3 paired with between 1 and 4 parts of omega-6. Some foods do include that balance. Choose sunflower seeds or flax in all forms, such as the seeds themselves, flaxseed oil and ground flaxseed.
Health Implications
A study in the October 2002 issue of “Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy” explains that eating too many omega-6 fats in proportion to omega-3 fats is associated with heart disease, cancer and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Another study published in “Trials” in April 2011 says that reducing omega-6 fats can reduce chronic pain from migraine headaches. And a study in the April 2007 issue of "Psychosomatic Medicine” found that older adults who had high ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 were more likely to suffer depression than those who did not have high ratios.
References
- Harvard Health Publications: Fats Resource Center
- Savvy Vegetarian; Healthy Fats for Vegetarian and Vegan Diets; Linda Posch, M.S., S.L.P., N.D.
- “Trials”; Low Omega-6 vs. Low Omega-6 Plus High Omega-3 Dietary Intervention for Chronic Daily Headache: Protocol for a Randomized Clinical Trial; Christopher E. Ramsden, et al.; April 2011
- “Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy”; The Importance of the Ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids; A.P. Simopoulos; October 2002
- "Psychosomatic Medicine”; Depressive Symptoms, omega-6:omega-3 Fatty Acids, and Inflammation in Older Adults; Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, Ph.D., et al.; April 2007
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