Research
Hormonal
A lower omega-6 to omega-3 ratio (2-3:1) suppresses inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and a ratio of 5:1 has a beneficial effect on asthma, whereas a ratio of 10:1 has adverse consequences.
If you have rheumatoid arthritis, aim for a very low omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 2-3:1. If you have asthma, a ratio of 5:1 may be beneficial. This involves reducing omega-6 oils and increasing omega-3 sources. The optimal ratio depends on your specific health condition.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
A ratio of 2–3/1 suppressed inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and a ratio of 5/1 had a beneficial effect on patients with asthma, whereas a ratio of 10/1 had adverse consequences.
Why this rating
Based on specific studies cited in a review.
Source
The Importance of the Omega-6/Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratio in Cardiovascular Disease and Other Chronic Diseases
Artemis P. Simopoulos · Experimental Biology and Medicine · 2008
DOI 10.3181/0711-mr-311
narrative_reviewCited 2,886×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- A lower omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio (specifically 4:1 or lower) reduces total mortality and cardiovascular disease risk compared to the standard Western ratio of 15:1-16.7:1.Good
- A lower omega-6 to omega-3 ratio (specifically 2.5:1) reduces rectal cell proliferation in patients with colorectal cancer, whereas a higher ratio (4:1) with the same omega-3 amount has no effect.Moderate
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