New study shows omega-6 does not increase inflammation

New study examining blood levels of omega-6 in thousands of subjects concludes that it does not raise inflammatory markers

2025-06-30

(Press-News.org) June 30, 2025, Sioux Falls, SD: A new study published in Nutrients offers new insight into omega-6 and whether it is truly the proinflammatory fatty acid many claim it to be.

There is currently a heightened interest in the health effects of seed oils, many of which are rich in linoleic acid (LA), an essential omega-6 fatty acid. Many have claimed that western diets contain “too much” LA and that many diseases of modernity stem from the increased intake of LA over the last century.

This narrative places the blame on excess inflammation presumably caused by higher LA intakes. But are higher intakes – and therefore higher blood levels – really linked with increased inflammation? That was the primary question this new study addressed.

Investigators relied on data from the Framingham Offspring Study, a well-known research cohort from the Boston area. The Framingham Offspring Study is a landmark longitudinal research initiative that follows the children of participants in the original Framingham Heart Study to investigate genetic and lifestyle factors influencing cardiovascular and metabolic health. Launched in 1971, it has provided decades of valuable insights into chronic disease risk and prevention. The cohort's rigor and continuity make it one of the most trusted sources for understanding long-term health trajectories.

This was a cross-sectional study, meaning that the LA and arachidonic acid (AA) levels were measured in the same blood samples as the 10 inflammation-related biomarkers in 2700 individuals. The relationships between the levels of these two omega-6 fatty acids and 10 separate blood/urine biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress were statistically evaluated.

After adjusting (controlling statistically) for multiple other potentially confounding factors (age, race, sex, smoking, blood lipid levels, blood pressure, body weight, etc.), the researchers found that higher LA levels were associated with statistically significantly lower levels of five of the 10 biomarkers, and in no case was higher LA related to higher levels of any biomarker. For AA, higher levels were linked with lower concentrations of four markers, and, like LA, there were no statistically significant associations with higher levels of inflammation/oxidation.

“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,” explained study investigator William S. Harris, PhD; President Fatty Acid Research Institute; Founder, OmegaQuant Analytics, LLC; and Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, SD.

“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,” Dr. Harris continued. “These findings contradict a narrative, not previous research findings. There are many studies in the medical literature that are consistent with our findings here.”

<END>

Red Blood Cell Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Biomarkers of Inflammation in the Framingham Offspring Study

Media Inquiries:

Becky Wright, WrightOn Marketing & Communications

+1-201-675-0197

becky@wrightonmarketing.com

About FARI:

FARI was established in 2020 as a non-profit foundation that brings together nutrition scientists and biostatistical experts with strong publication records and expertise in fatty acids to accelerate discovery of the relationship between fatty acids, especially omega-3s, and health. FARI is currently the only organization focused directly on discovering and publishing research evaluating the health effects of individual fatty acids. Learn more @ www.faresinst.org

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Firms raise the bar after missing the target: Strategic use of overestimated earnings targets

2025-06-30

When companies miss their earnings targets, one might expect them to lower expectations and rebuild investor trust slowly. However, many do the opposite. They announced even higher goals for the next period. A team of researchers, led by Professor Jungwon Min from Inha University, South Korea, including Professor Hyonok Kim from Tokyo Keizai University and Professor Konari Uchida from the Graduate School of Business and Finance, Waseda University, Japan, published a new study online in the journal Review of Managerial Science on June 03, 2025. It uncovers how firms strategically ...

Pusan National University scientists uncover gene mutation tied to poor outcomes in transplant patients

2025-06-30

Organ transplantation has significantly revolutionized the treatment of patients with organ failure. However, the recipient’s immune system recognizes transplanted organs as foreign and elicits a defensive response that can lead to serious complications. Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) is one such complication that arises frequently following lung transplantation (LT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). BOS is characterized by the narrowing of airways, fibrosis, and inflammation in the lung tissue leading to breathing difficulties and poor graft survival. Immune mechanisms and shared pathological ...

How a common herpes virus outsmarts the immune system

2025-06-30

PITTSBURGH, June 30, 2025 – New research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and La Jolla Institute for Immunology, published today in Nature Microbiology, reveals an opportunity for developing a therapy against cytomegalovirus (CMV), the leading infectious cause of birth defects in the United States. Researchers discovered a previously unappreciated mechanism by which CMV, a herpes virus that infects the majority of the world’s adult population, enters cells that line the blood vessels and contributes to vascular disease. In addition to using molecular machinery that is shared by ...

Breakthrough resins speed up 3D printing with built-in material control

2025-06-30

Inspired by how nature blends toughness and flexibility, such as the rigid structure of bone surrounded by pliable cartilage, all with elegant and precise geometric properties, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a fast, precise new 3D printing method that seamlessly merges soft and hard properties into a single object using different colors of light. This advance could pave the way for next-generation prosthetics, flexible medical devices and stretchable electronics that move naturally with the body, much like a human joint or ligament. The process is described in a paper out today in Nature Materials. “What really motivated ...

BCI robotic hand control reaches new finger-level milestone

2025-06-30

BCI robotic hand control reaches new finger-level milestone Robotic systems have the potential to greatly enhance daily living for the over one billion individuals worldwide who experience some form of disability. Brain-computer interfaces or BCIs present a compelling option by enabling direct communication between the brain and external devices, bypassing traditional muscle-based control. While invasive BCIs have demonstrated the ability to control robotic systems with high precision, their reliance on risky surgical ...

Neurons burn sugar differently. The discovery could save the brain

2025-06-30

A new study from scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging has revealed a surprising player in the battle against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia: brain sugar metabolism. Published in Nature Metabolism, the research uncovers how breaking down glycogen—a stored form of glucose—in neurons may protect the brain from toxic protein buildup and degeneration. Glycogen is typically thought of as a reserve energy source stored in the liver and muscles. While small amounts ...

AI matches doctors in mapping lung tumors for radiation therapy

2025-06-30

CHICAGO --- In radiation therapy, precision can save lives. Oncologists must carefully map the size and location of a tumor before delivering high-dose radiation to destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. But this process, called tumor segmentation, is still done manually, takes time, varies between doctors — and can lead to critical tumor areas being overlooked. Now, a team of Northwestern Medicine scientists has developed an AI tool called iSeg that not only matches doctors in accurately outlining lung tumors on CT scans but can also identify areas that some doctors may miss, reports ...

A rare form of leprosy existed in the Americas for thousands of years

2025-06-30

To the point Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) is thought to have originated in Eurasia: previous studies on Mycobacterium leprae, the dominant form of leprosy, suggest the disease originated in Eurasia. Ancient pathogen genomes from old bones: a team of scientists from Germany and Argentina have reconstructed two genomes of Mycobacterium lepromatosis in 4000-year-old human skeletons from Chile. This pathogen is regarded as a second, less common, cause of Hansen’s Disease. A new American chapter for Hansen’s Disease: two pathogens that are responsible for the same disease ...

Researchers identify genetic bottlenecks that explain the emergence of cholera

2025-06-30

A new study by the Genomics and Microbial Evolution Group at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) together with the Department of Host-Microbe Interactions at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, USA, sheds light on one of the great enigmas of microbiology: why only certain strains of common bacteria become pandemic pathogens. The work, published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), focuses on Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera. It reveals that its most dangerous form arises from a specific combination ...

Tests to detect marijuana-impaired driving based on ‘pseudoscience’

2025-06-30

PISCATAWAY, NJ – For years now, U.S. police departments have employed officers who are trained to be experts in detecting “drugged driving.” The problem is, however, that the methods those officers use are not based on science, according to a new editorial in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. With marijuana now legal in many U.S. states, the need for reliable tests for marijuana impairment is more pressing than ever. Police can evaluate alcohol-intoxicated drivers by using an objective measure of breath ...

New study shows omega-6 does not increase inflammation

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: