isn’t always bad, of course. When the area around a splinter gets all red, hot, and swollen, it’s a sign that the body is using arachidonic acid to mount an inflammatory response to help fight off infection. But your body already makes all the arachidonic acid you need, so you don’t need to take in any more via your diet.14 In this way, arachidonic acid resembles cholesterol, another essential component that the body makes all on its
