What You Need To Know About Calories

Nutrition

What You Need To Know About Calories - October 7th, 2020

Are All Calories Created Equal?
Interestingly, the calories your body takes in may not be the same as the calories your body uses. A 2500 calorie per day diet may cause some people to gain weight, while a different 2500 calorie per day diet may cause no weight gain or even weight loss in other people. It all depends on the sources of the calories and how your body digests them.

How Calorie Count Is Measured
Calories are units used to measure the energy provided by the food we eat. Specifically, one calorie is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.

Calories In Food
Food manufacturers measure calorie content using a 'bomb calorimeter'. Food is placed in a sealed container that is filled with water, then electrical energy is used to burn the food. When it is burned completely, the temperature of the water is measured and a calculation is made to determine how many calories are in that food.  

How The Body Uses Calories
The problem with the bomb calorimeter is that it measures every available calorie the food contains, but in our diets we don’t always use up every available calorie.

Let's take fiber for example: Fiber can be burned in a bomb calorimeter and its calories are measured as part of the total amount of calories. In the gut however, fiber is not digested (especially insoluble fiber) and it instead passes through the body to make up the bulky portion of stool.

This means that the calories you ate from fiber aren’t absorbed and you are actually consuming fewer calories than you’d expect. This is a good reason to eat high fiber foods as they are very satiating. 

The Atwater System
Another method of determining calories is called the Atwater system. In this system, the calories of food are broken down into the number of calories they contain of protein, fat, carbohydrates & alcohol.

There are 4 calories in each gram of protein, there are also 4 calories in each gram of carbohydrate, fats contain 9 calories per gram, and it takes up 7 calories per gram of alcohol. The food is broken down into each of these components and the calorie count can then be determined.

Neither Method Is Truly Accurate
Neither method is a true measure of the digestibility of food and the degree of absorption of the digested products. The truth is that the food those calories come from greatly determines how they are processed in the body.

Calories are NOT created equal as the exact same amount of calories from two different types of food can pose completely different biological effects in the body.

Soda Versus Mushrooms: A Case Study
Is 182 calories worth of soda the same as 182 calories worth of mushrooms? Let's see!

Soda

A 22-ounce serving of soda has 44 grams of sugar, 182 calories and nothing else. The stomach quickly absorbs the sugar causing a spike in blood glucose levels and a variety of negative chemical reactions in the body, including but not limited to increases in storage of belly fat, increases in bad cholesterol and blood pressure, and may even contribute to infertility in women.


The flood of insulin also blocks leptin, the hormone that controls appetite. As people become more resistant to leptin, they have reduced feelings of satiation, and this leads to overeating, out of control cravings and adds fuel to the sugar addiction fire. This domino effect leads to bad eating habits, and cravings for sugar that will never truly be satisfied. 

 

Additionally, the fructose in the soda does not send a signal to the brain that the body just received calories, so they are not registered as food, and this means that it will also effect ghrelin, the appetite hormone that is reduced when the body receives real food, leading to more hunger, more cravings and over eating.


Mushrooms

Mushrooms are also carbohydrates, but instead of being simple sugars like the soda, they are complex carbs that digest slowly in the body. They will not cause blood sugar spikes, but instead will be digested slowly. They also provide essential nutrients like potassium, fiber, protein, iron, vitamin D & magnesium, building up the body instead of causing harm. 


The quality nutritional profile of the mushrooms supports numerous healthy results in the body, and also helps protect against chronic diseases, including various cancers & heart disease.


The nutritional profile, slow digestion and fiber found in mushrooms allow you to feel full and satisfied, eliminating out of control cravings. For these reasons, mushrooms are much less likely to lead to overeating & weight gain.


The difference between the calories in soda and mushrooms is clear!

One study that looked at the correlation of sugar and calories to risk of diabetes found that simply adding 150 calories a day to a diet barely raised the risk for diabetes, however when those calories were from soda the risk increased by 700%.


By the way, 186 calories worth of mushrooms is almost 9 cups, which is a lot of mushrooms, especially in comparison to 22 ounces of soda. 

Now, most people will not consume 9 cups of mushrooms in one sitting (mainly because they are so filling), but think about how much more food you can actually eat when choosing quality food!


What Does This Mean For Eating And Counting Calories? 

Eat slow digesting foods and try to limit your intake of simple sugars!

Eat real whole foods!


Look at labels for foods that contain a high amount of fiber. Plant foods naturally contain a great deal of indigestible fiber that will bulk up the stool and won’t be counted as 'real' calories because they are not digested or absorbed in the body. 

Vegetables are always your best choices, as are low sugar fruits such as berries.


Empty calorie foods like cake, donuts, cookies, potato chips, soda and other junk foods are your worst choices that will do very little good for your body and can cause harm when frequently overconsumed. You don't have to avoid eating them at all times. Just be sure to consume them in moderation.


Take Home Message: Stock up on high fiber, real food for your health!

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