Forget counting calories — just focus on these two numbers

Two nutritional experts say they’ve found the answer to the question of why we can’t seem to drop those stubborn pounds.

And forget having to restrict calories on a crash diet or waste hours running nowhere on a treadmill.

That may sound too good to be true — but it isn’t!

There are, however, some easy improvements that will make these findings even better.

Up with the 3, down with the 6

Slowly but surely, our food has been stripped of some of its most important nutritional benefits: omega-3 fatty acids. Those are the good fats that reduce inflammation and keep your heart and brain in top form.

Omega-3s are also good for your eyes, your bones and your gut. The list, as they say, goes on and on.

And then, there are omega-6 fatty acids.

You also need omega-6 in your diet, but there’s a catch. Too much of it fires up inflammation while also boosting the type of fat that gets stored instead of burned, a perfect recipe for obesity. The right balance, experts say, is for 3 and 6 to be equally matched – with a margin for error on the side of omega-3s.

Right now, however, the typical Western diet is a lopsided 16 to 1 – with the seesaw hitting the ground on the omega-6 side.

And that’s where this new research comes in.

In a recent issue of BMJ’s Open Heart, a pair of nutritionists from two U.S. health institutes say it’s time to ditch our “obsession with calories.” In other words, do away with that old “calories in, calories out” mantra that’s had us measuring portions and counting our steps.

That, as the researchers say, has “failed miserably.”

They make the convincing case that if you balance omega-3 with omega-6 fatty acids, you’ll naturally end up at the proper weight. Their approach has three steps – and while their research seems to be top-notch, it went off the rails in several places:

• Step #1: Meat. They’re basically throwing in the towel on meat because most beef these days is drained dry of omega-3s. And it’s true: Factory farm cows are fed mostly corn and a few other grains, as well as a boatload of junk food to fatten them up faster. However, when livestock eats grass or hay, its meat is loaded with omega-3s, so switch to organic, grass-fed beef and dairy.
• Step #2: Fish. Their approach recommends you eat more fish, but the truth is, you’ve got to eat more of the right kind of fish. Farmed varieties of fish just won’t cut it, but wild-caught varieties of fatty fish like tuna, salmon and mackerel are omega-3 all-stars.
• Step #3: Cooking oil. The researchers start off warning against vegetable oils like corn, sunflower and soy oil that are high in omega-6 – and that’s excellent advice. Ditch the canola oil, and use extra virgin olive and coconut oil in your cooking.

That third step threw me for a loop, because they also say we should use canola, flaxseed, walnut, or chia oil – and that really misses the mark! As I’ve warned you in the past, practically all canola produced in the U.S. comes from GM crops. That means you have a good chance of getting a dose of glyphosate weed killer every time you cook with canola.

Plus that, canola oil goes through an additional deodorizing process that turns some of the oil’s omega-3s into toxic trans fats.

And remember to also steer clear of corn and soy oils. Those are two more crops practically guaranteed to be GMOs.

Flaxseed, walnut, and chia oils are fine for salads, but they’re terrible for cooking because they have low smoke points. When fat reaches a smoke point it starts releasing unhealthy chemicals in the air and in your food, as well as adding a burnt taste to whatever you’re cooking.

“Cut dietary omega 6 and boost omega 3 to cut soaring obesity rates, urge experts” BMJ, October 25, 2016, bmj.com