Does Omega 6 cause OR reduce inflammation?

Before I answer this question, let’s dive into some Omega 6 basics.

As you can see from your course materials, we specifically highlight the benefits of GLA (a type of Omega 6).

This is important, because Omega 6 fatty acids are a very BIG family. There are loads of different types of Omega 6 fatty acids!

Some we can get through our diet, some are produced by the body.

The type Omega 6 fatty acid that your body cannot produce is LA (Linoleic Acid), a precursor of GLA (Gamma-linolenic Acid).

Because your body can’t make it, LA is essential. Then your body can make its own GLA from the LA you get from your diet.

However, that internal conversion process isn’t always effective, so consuming dietary GLA has been shown to provide more direct benefits (it saves your body having to convert LA into GLA).

Some people are deficient in GLA because their bodies can’t covert LA effectively. Also, as we get older, the efficiency of this conversion process declines. Another cause of GLA deficiency can be deficiencies in other essential nutrients!

Okay, now let’s go back to the “big” Omega 6 family.

Some Omega 6 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory, while other Omega 6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory.

Welcome to the Omega 6 paradox!

However, dietary GLA (in its unchanged form) is anti-inflammatory.

There are loads of types of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory Omega 6 fatty acids that your own body produces (from GLA) as part of the inflammatory response.

Now, remember that your body uses the inflammation cascade a) to grow tissue, and b) as a defence mechanism to survive – so it’s not always a bad thing.

Also remember that pro-inflammatory means that something promotes (not causes) inflammation.

In fact, Omega 6’s pro-inflammatory process is essential to muscle-building for instance, whereby some Omega 6 fatty acids that your body produces promote growth during and after exercising your muscles.

So inflammation it’s not the “evil” that most bloggers out there claim it to be. Chances are they are oversimplifying things, or using emotional language to get your attention.

Also, inflammation is key to cell and DNA repair.

For example, your body makes inflammatory-promoting prostaglandins from arachidonic acid (another type of Omega 6 made by your body) in order to a) alert your immune system of the cell damage, and b) then produce anti-inflammatory molecules (like lipoxins and prostacyclin, made from Omega 6) after the cell damage has been repaired.

The key point to remember is that the consumption of Omega 6 does not “cause” inflammation.

As we’ve seen before, pro-inflammatory does not mean inflammatory-causing.

There are some studies that “correlate” excessive Omega 6 intake with disease. But correlation does not imply “causation”.

Correlation is deduced from epidemiological studies (survey questionnaires completed by people, mainly relying on their memory!), and not by using lab tests to explain a biological cause-effect mechanism or underlying biochemistry.

(We often make this distinction in our THSA Lab continuing education trainings  to debunk myths!)

Here’s a tip:

Pay attention to verbs like “to correlate”, “to link”, “to associate” … they are based on epidemiological stats, and not on biological proof!

This means that linking A to B cannot prove that A causes B.

So, to date, the are no biological trials showing that Omega 6 intake “causes” disease.

However, there’s biological evidence that increasing dietary Omega 3 intake can help reduce inflammation in people who already have an inflammatory disease.

We evolved on a healthy Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio of 1 to 1 (one gram of Omega 6 per gram of Omega 3), whereas the ratio today is a less-healthy 20 to 1. So that balance is important too.

I hope this gives you an insight into the Omega 6 paradox!

Here’s a recommended reading about “bad science” and which red-flags you should watch out for when you search for online information:

Junk Science Blogs: 4 Signs You May Be Unknowingly Following One

 

AUTHOR: Alex Ruani, Research Director

 

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