Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid content in selected foods
The table shown on this page gives information about the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty
acid content in a number of foods. The information is based on data from this site.
The food items are ranked according to the % omega-3 fatty acid content of the essential
fatty acids present in the food.
As you can see the foods with 
the highest content of omega-3 fatty acids are oily
fish like salmon and mackerel.
Note also that tuna canned in water has a much higher omega-3 fatty acid content
than tuna canned in oil. This is because the oil used is poor in omega-3 fatty acids.
This oil diffuses into the meat of the fish. For this reason tuna (and sardines)
canned in water should be preferred.
It may be surprising that pistachios, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds and
almonds contain virtually no omega-3 fatty acid.
Also note that even if spinach has a favorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, the amount
of essential fatty acids is very low.
The plant source with the highest content of omega-3 fatty acids is flax seeds.
However, the omega-3 fatty acid in all plant sources is alpha-linolenic acid (ALA),
which needs to be converted in the body to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA), which are the best omega-3 fatty acids. This conversion is relatively
slow in many people. In addition the absorption of essential fatty acids is much
less from plant than animal sources.
So if you need to boost your intake of omega-3 fatty acids, you would obtain the
best effect by eating oily fish or the oils derived from these.
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