Omega-3 vs Omega-6: The Fat Balance That Controls Inflammation - And How to Fix It

India didn't always have an inflammation problem. Then, over about thirty years, we quietly swapped our mustard oil, groundnut oil and ghee for cheap refined sunflower and soybean oils and the numbers started changing.

First, what are these fats exactly?

Omega-3 and omega-6 are essential fatty acids. Your body cannot produce them, so every gram must come from food. Both are necessary, omega-6 triggers inflammation when you need it (fighting an infection, healing a wound) and omega-3 resolves it afterwards. The ratio between them determines whether that inflammation switch gets turned off, or stays on.

Why the balance matters so much?

The nutritional information in this article is for general awareness only. Please consult a qualified nutritionist or doctor for personalised dietary advice.

In one generation, the Indian ratio shifted from roughly 1:4 to as high as 1:50. Traditional Indian kitchens ran on fats with a reasonable omega-6 to omega-3 balance. The mass shift to refined vegetable oils in the 1980s and 90s flooded Indian diets with omega-6.

Research published in the Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry estimates the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in modern Indian diets now sits between 20:1 and 50:1. The ICMR–NIN recommends keeping it at or below 10:1. It's not the omega-6, it's the missing omega-3.

Omega-6 is not the enemy. When omega-6 dominates without omega-3 to balance it, your body produces more pro-inflammatory compounds (prostaglandins, leukotrienes) and fewer anti-inflammatory ones. A 2020 meta-analysis in the journal Nutrients found that higher omega-3 intake was associated with meaningfully lower CRP, a standard inflammation marker especially in people eating high-refined-oil diets. Chronic low-grade inflammation sits behind every major lifestyle disease, Elevated inflammation markers are consistently associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis, three conditions that are rising sharply in India. The ICMR's India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative identified lifestyle diseases as responsible for over 61% of total deaths nationally. Diet is among the most modifiable contributing factors.

How to restore the balance, from your kitchen?

• Ground flaxseed (1 tbsp daily):

Stir into roti dough, morning curd, or chutney. One of India's richest plant-based ALA omega-3 sources, and the easiest habit to build

• Walnuts (a small handful, ~28g):

The only common nut with significant omega-3. A desk snack that earns its place

• Chia seeds:

Soak overnight in milk, blend into a smoothie, or scatter over poha. Gentle flavour, meaningful omega-3 payload

• Switch your cooking oil:

Wood-pressed mustard oil has a far better omega ratio than refined sunflower or soybean oil and it's what Indian cooking was built on

• Fatty fish twice a week (if non-vegetarian):

Sardines, mackerel, rohu, these deliver EPA and DHA, the long-chain omega-3s your body uses most directly

The fix is simpler than you think

You don't need supplements, fish oil capsules, or an overhaul. A spoonful of flaxseed at breakfast, a handful of walnuts mid-morning, and wood-pressed oil in your tadka quietly resets a ratio that your body has been waiting to fix.

Browse SatRas's range of wood-pressed mustard oils, the everyday staple your kitchen used to rely on, brought back.