It Is Not About Getting More Omega-3. It Is About the Ratio.

By Tina Chagoury, Clinical Dietitian · 5 min read · 2026-11-09

Most people are not deficient in fat. They are eating the wrong proportions, and the proportion is what controls inflammation.

The conversation about omega-3 is usually framed as a deficiency to be corrected with a supplement. The more useful framing is a ratio.

The balance between omega-3 and omega-6 in your body is fundamental to controlling inflammation.

What each one does

Both are essential fats, meaning your body cannot make them and you must obtain them from food.

Broadly, omega-6 fats give rise to compounds that promote inflammation, and omega-3 fats give rise to compounds that resolve it.

That is not a moral distinction. You need both. Inflammation is a necessary process, and so is switching it off. The problem is when the proportions are so skewed that the resolving side cannot keep up.

Where the imbalance comes from

Modern diets have shifted the ratio dramatically toward omega-6, from several directions at once:

Refined seed and vegetable oils, used in nearly all processed and restaurant food.

Fried food. Oils used for frying transform chemically and become both inflammatory and carcinogenic. This is one of the clearest items on any anti inflammatory list.

Grain fed meat. Beef raised on grain contains higher omega-6 and can be more inflammatory. Grass fed beef is richer in omega-3 with a better fat balance. Lamb and goat are generally leaner and better on this measure.

Low intake of oily fish.

What to do about it

Reduce omega-6 from the wrong sources

This is where most of the improvement comes from, and it gets far less attention than supplementing.

Use extra virgin olive oil, and use it generously. Olive oil is a genuine anti inflammatory medicine and should be consumed in real quantity, without guilt.

Avoid fried food and refined oils as far as you reasonably can.

Increase omega-3

Oily fish. Sardines are excellent and I choose them often, because they contain more vitamin D and are easier to obtain than salmon. Salmon, mackerel and anchovies all count.

Seeds, particularly ground flaxseed, and walnuts.

Grass fed meat, where available.

On supplements

DHA specifically matters enormously before and during pregnancy. Studies have found associations between DHA status and cognitive outcomes in the child, which places it alongside iodine as a nutrient worth getting right rather than hoping about.

Outside pregnancy, food first, with supplementation based on your actual intake and, ideally, testing.

Why this connects to everything else

Inflammation is the thread running through most of what I write about:

• It makes blood vessels leakier, which produces water retention
• It interferes with insulin signalling, which drives insulin resistance
• It is one of the largest contributors to long term disease risk
• It rises during perimenopause as oestrogen fluctuates and immune signalling becomes less stable

Fat balance is one of the levers you have over that, and it is one of the easier ones to pull, because it is mostly about what oil you cook with.

The simplest version

Cook with extra virgin olive oil. Eat oily fish two or three times a week. Avoid fried food. Choose grass fed where you can.

That handles most of it without a single supplement.

This article is nutrition education, not medical advice.

Tina Chagoury is a licensed clinical dietitian specialising in women's hormonal health and inflammation, and the creator of the Hormone Reset Method™. Learn more and start here.