Are Calories an Accurate Reflection of Good Nutrition?

Each year, an average of 45 million Americans go on a diet, a concept that involves burning more calories than you take in – otherwise known as a calorie deficit. But just because you watch your caloric intake doesn’t necessarily mean you’re eating healthy and receiving the nutrients you need. We will dispel the myths about calories being equal and provide examples of how the food choices you make matter.

Why does the source of calories matter? 

In 2010, a story of a nutrition professor at Kansas State made national news for losing weight on a Twinkie diet. He lost 27 pounds during two months, with two-thirds of his daily caloric intake coming from Twinkies, chips, sugary cereal and other processed baked goods. He also mixed in a protein shake and a can of vegetables or a few celery stalks. 

The point of the experiment was to showcase counting calories matters when it comes to weight loss. 

Sure, that may be true, regardless of the source of those calories. But there is a difference between cutting calories and following a quality, nutritious diet. Plus, is it sustainable? For example, eating junk food for a week while working out and operating at a calorie deficit can, by definition, lower your weight, but you also lose out on vital nutrients needed to stay healthy. 

All calories aren’t created equal

In a vacuum, 100 calories worth of cookies or chips offers the same amount of energy as 100 calories from carrot sticks or a side dish of mushroom. However, calories are only one aspect of nutrition. Cookies and chips don’t provide any nutritional value outside of calories. By comparison, carrots are high in vitamin A and amino acids (cysteine and threonine), while mushrooms are a good source of copper, selenium, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin) and vitamin B5. 

Even in the case of natural foods, this concept still applies. Apples are a good example of this. Eating a large apple has 116 calories compared to 113 calories for a cup (8 ounces) of apple juice. The apple juice is the better choice because it has 3 fewer calories, right? Wrong.  

Let’s examine. The apple, in its whole, unprocessed form, has 5 grams of dietary fiber and 17 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin C. By contrast, a cup of apple juice has 0.5 grams of fiber and just 3 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin C. As you can see, these two foods aren’t equal. The fiber from the whole apple will help fill you up, while a glass of apple juice has limited benefits. Think of it as more bang for your buck – you receive more nutrients for the same caloric count. 

How the body processes macronutrients

At a high level, the body metabolizes macronutrients into the following finished product:  

• Carbohydrates metabolize into sugars 
• Proteins metabolite into amino acids 
• Fats metabolize into fatty acids and glycerol 

This doesn’t tell the entire story, though. While some foods with similar caloric counts may have a similar chemical makeup, the body can process them in different ways. Carbohydrates in processed foods may contain glucose and fructose. Table sugar is the most common type of glucose, while fructose is fruit sugar found on packages as high fructose corn syrup. 

Any tissue can metabolize glucose, but the liver must metabolize fructose. Any excess fructose that isn’t converted to energy can increase blood cholesterol and lead to weight gain.  

Comparing the calorie count of various macronutrients is also difficult. Eating protein is more efficient for your body than carbs because your body uses more energy to metabolize protein into amino acids. Therefore, eating 300 calories of steak, chicken or pork is a better source of nutrition than a 300-calorie doughnut. 

What are empty calories? 

Looking at foods strictly from a calorie perspective also doesn’t account for satiety (the feeling of being full). 

Most snack foods, desserts and fried foods qualify as empty calories, meaning they have little to no nutritional value outside of calories, refined carbohydrates and a high fat content. 

Examples of empty calories include:

• Desserts (baked goods, cakes) 
• Fast food (burgers, fries, pizza) 
• Processed meats (deli meat, sausage, hot dogs)
• Snack foods (cookies, chips, pretzels)
• Sugary drinks (soda, juices from concentrate) 
• Sugary sauces (ketchup, salad dressings) 

Empty calories are dangerous for two reasons. First, refined carbohydrates pass through your digestive system quicker than whole foods. This explains why you can eat a bag of candy and still not be satisfied 30 minutes later. The faster the transit time, the quicker these carbs raise your blood sugar levels. When glucose increases, your body releases the hormone insulin to move the sugar into cells for storage. 

Second, refined carbohydrates impact your brain, specifically the neurotransmitter dopamine which is responsible for regulating your mood and creating a feeling of reward. This feeling is why it’s easy to snack on an entire bag of chips. 

Calorie dense foods

As a general rule of thumb, how calorie dense a food is a good indication of its nutrition. Calorie density is a way to describe how many calories are in a food relative to its volume. There are some outliers, but most unhealthy foods are calorie dense, while fruits and vegetables are nutrient dense (or low on the calorie dense scale).

For example, a medium-sized doughnut (about 69 grams) has 270 calories. By comparison, about four large strawberries (69 grams) have just 22 calories. Therefore, the doughnut would be calorie dense and the strawberry would be nutrient dense.

Avocados are one of the main exceptions, as one medium avocado has 322 calories. Despite the high calorie count, avocados are rich in fiber (13 grams), potassium, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin K and copper. 

Most calorie dense foods

Typically, any type of baked goods, snack foods or processed foods is considered calorie dense. Some of the worst culprits include bread, cereal and pizza as well as chocolate, butter, oils and red meat. Two tablespoons of olive packs 248 calories, which is the equivalent of eating five cups of cooked kale. 

Low calorie dense foods

Fruits and vegetables are high in water content and fiber, making them low calorie dense foods. Not only are these foods filling, but they don’t contain many calories. Other than fruits and vegetables, whole grains such as oatmeal and legumes are also nutrient dense. 

What can you do? 

Focus on eating better, not eating less – think quality over quantity. The calories you consume matter, but you should be aware of the nutrients that go along with those calories. 

As a guide, prioritize eating high volume, low calorie foods. 

Eat high volume, low calorie foods 

Have you ever tried to binge eat spinach? Probably not. There are 7 calories in a cup of spinach, meaning you could eat 20 cups and only consume 140 calories. While mostly water, spinach is high in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, potassium and magnesium.  

On the other hand, if you ate 20 cups of a snack food, such as chips or cookies, you’d likely end up with a stomach ache and possibly in the hospital.

High volume, low calorie foods are high in water content and fiber to fill you up without adding many calories. Some foods, such as oats and legumes, aren’t high in water content, but they are packed with fiber to provide volume to meals.

Here is a list of high volume, low calorie foods to eat: 

• Beans 
• Berries 
• Carrots 
• Cauliflower 
• Chia seeds 
• Cottage cheese (reduced fat) 
• Flax seeds 
• Grapes 
• Kiwi 
• Leafy greens 
• Legumes 
• Mushrooms 
• Oats 
• Peas 
• Ricotta cheese (reduced fat) 
• Tomatoes 
• Watermelon 
• Yogurt (reduced fat) 
• Zucchini  

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