Omega-6 Fatty Acid Doesn’t Raise Inflammatory Markers: Study

Omega-6 fatty acids do not raise assorted blood and urine biomarkers of inflammation, a recent study published in Nutrients concluded.

There is currently a heightened interest in whether seed oils, which are rich in omega-6 fatty acids like linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid (AA), can raise inflammation if consumed in excess. It has been posited that excessive consumption of seed oils and other sources of omega-6 fatty acids could be linked to a concurrent rise in diseases of modernity.

Investigators relied on data from the Framingham Offspring Study, which was a longitudinal research initiative following children of those who participated in the original Framingham Heart Study to investigate genetic and lifestyle factors related to cardiovascular and metabolic health.

The cross-sectional study compared LA and AA blood levels with 10 inflammation-related biomarkers in 2,700 individuals. The relationship between concentrations of the two omega-6 fatty and 10 separate blood and urine markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were statistically evaluated.

After adjusting for cofounding factors, the researchers found that higher LA levels were associated with a statistically significantly lower level of half of the biomarkers measured. LA was not associated with a higher average concentration of any other biomarker. For AA, higher levels correlated with reduced levels of four biomarkers, and didn’t heighten any of the remaining markers compared to average AA levels.

“These new data show clearly that people who have the highest levels of LA (and AA) in their blood are in a less inflammatory state than people with lower levels. This finding is exactly the opposite of what one would expect if omega-6 fatty acids were ‘proinflammatory’ – in fact, they appear to be anti-inflammatory,” said William S. Harris, PhD, president of the Fatty Acid Research Institute, founder of OmegaQuant, and professor at Sanford School of Medicine. “In the flurry of news stories about the harms of seed oils, the primary sources of LA in the diet, many voices are calling for reducing Americans’ intakes of LA. This is not a science-based recommendation, and this study, in addition to many more, point in precisely the opposite direction: instead of lowering LA intakes, raising intakes appears to be a healthier recommendation. These findings contradict a narrative, not previous research findings. There are many studies in the medical literature that are consistent with our findings here.”