Omega-6 fatty acids are a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Some medical research notes that high levels of omega-6 fatty acids from seed oils may increase the chance for a number of diseases. However, having non-rancid nuts, which are high in omega-6, is associated with lower risk for some diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, stroke, heart attacks and certain cancers.
Modern Western diets often have ratios of omega-6 to omega 3 higher than 10. Some are as high as 30. The normal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in the Western diet is 15–16.7, mainly from vegetable oils.
Dietary sources
Vegetable oils are a major source of omega-6 linoleic acid. Worldwide, more than 100 million metric tons of vegetable oils are extracted annually from palm fruits, soybean seeds, rape seeds, and sunflower seeds, providing more than 32 million metric tons of omega-6 linoleic acid and 4 million metric tons of omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid.
Dietary sources of omega-6 fatty acids include: poultry eggs nuts hulled sesame seeds cereals durum wheat whole-grain breads pumpkin seeds most vegetable oils including grape seed oil evening primrose oil borage oil blackcurrant seed oil flax or linseed oil rapeseed or canola oil hemp oil soybean oil cottonseed oil sunflower seed oil corn oil safflower oil palm oil