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Omega-3:6 Ratio: Balancing Your Dietary Fats
All NiaHealth tests are processed in Canadian-certified labs, which are highly trusted by the medical community for their accuracy and reliability. Blood and urine samples are collected by licensed medical professionals and processed using state-of-the-art equipment. NiaHealth is SOC2 Type 2 certified.
What is it?
The Omega-3, 6 ratio tells you the relative amount of omega-3 fats circulating in your blood compared to the amount of omega-6 fats.
Why it matters
Although both omega-3 fats and omega-6 fats have health benefits, Western diets tend to contain excessive amounts of omega-6 fats–around 20 times as much as omega-3 fats. Not having enough omega-3s in the diet relative to omega-6s has been linked to inflammation in some studies.
Reference ranges
The reference range for Omega-3/Omega-6 ratio reflects recommendations from the testing laboratory as well as cutoffs established in research studies. In general, a ratio of 1:3 (0.33) is considered optimal, whereas a ratio of 1:10 (0.10) or lower may raise the risk for inflammatory conditions. Your Omega-3/Omega-6 ratio should be interpreted in conjunction with your other results to get the best understanding of your overall cardiac risk profile and health status.
Bishehkolaei, M., & Pathak, Y. (2024). Influence of omega n-6/n-3 ratio on cardiovascular disease and nutritional interventions. Human Nutrition & Metabolism, 37(200275), 200275. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hnm.2024.200275)
This information is educational and does not replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Your results should be interpreted with a qualified healthcare professional in the context of your health history.
