Ask Leyla: Am I not consuming enough omega-6 fats?

Q: Can a person be low in omega-6 fats? I follow a whole foods omnivore diet—basically greens, poultry, salmon, eggs, beef, yogurt, sweet potatoes, avocados, nuts, some buckwheat and steel cut oats. I use a tracking app for years which shows I’m low in omega-6.

A: There’s plenty of omega-6 in the foods you list. Apart from your healthy diet, the primary source of omega 6 fats in the standard American diet comes from grains and vegetable oils. Our food supply is laden with omega-6 fatty acids given factory farmed animals are fed corn and soy, our own grain heavy diets, and vegetable oils still recommended by the American Heart Association.

Unfortunately, processed foods containing vegetable oils and grains have infiltrated even the ‘health’ foods category. Buyer beware when it comes to that ‘protein’ bar or ready to drink shake. Moreover, I wouldn’t have much faith in the app you use since so many of them follow RDA values and dietary guidelines which, in my opinion, are lacking at best and incorrect at worst.

We know the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 is critical to good health. The standard American diet puts that ratio at an unhealthy 20:1 and as much as 40:1 if the majority of intake consists of processed and junk food. A 2:1 ratio is healthier which is what we get when we eliminate not just junk food, but vegetable oils and most grains.

Finally, the fact that animals are fed grain and soy is the reason for the omega 6 overload in commercial meats. While all cattle are grass fed at first, factory-farmed cattle are soon switched to a grain-based diet to fatten them up for slaughter. However, grass fed and grass finished beef contain two to five times the amount of omega 3s compared to factory-farmed animals. Definitively a better choice. 

To your health! 

Leyla Muedin, MS, RD, CDN