Calories Don't Matter?

TrailBlazerMN

http://drhyman.com/blog/2014/04/10/calories-dont-matter/

I think calories matter to some degree but it's not the "end all, be all" of building a truly healthy body.

JossFit

Calories absolutely matter... it's called science. This article is just using an eye-catching headline to draw readers, but it's misleading.

I have a degree in Nutrition Science and have a successful business working as an online coach (nutrition and training) and each one of my clients diets are based on calorie consumption first and foremost.

Besides, what the article states is not that they don't matter, it's that they don't all get processed in the same way, which is true;

"What I’m trying to illustrate here (and this is probably the single most important idea in this book) is that all calories are NOT created equal. The same number of calories from different types of food can have very different biological effects."

This is simply restating what we all know to be true; nutrient dense foods are going to be better for your overall health and metabolic function, and macronutrients serve different purposes in the body.

Railr0aderTony

Look at that, they link is trying to sell a program and books. SPAM.

TrailBlazerMN

JossFit wrote: »

Calories absolutely matter... it's called science.

You mean the law of thermodynamics?

if so, what is your take on this:

"Newton’s first law of thermodynamics states that the energy of an isolated system is constant. In other words, in a laboratory, or “isolated system,” 1,000 calories of broccoli and 1,000 calories of soda are, in fact, the same. I’m not saying Newton was wrong about that. It’s true that when burned in a laboratory setting, 1,000 calories of broccoli and 1,000 calories of soda would indeed release the same amount of energy.

But sorry, Mr. Newton; your law of thermodynamics doesn’t apply in living, breathing, digesting systems. When you eat food, the “isolated system” part of the equation goes out the window. The food interacts with your biology, a complex adaptive system that instantly transforms every bite."

in_the_stars

I think calories matter to some degree but it's not the "end all, be all" of building a truly healthy body.

I agree, one of the reasons I track micros and don't really care about the rest. I'm here for health, fitness and my friends, though.. not weight loss.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I wouldn't give any serious thought to anything Hyman has to say.

TrailBlazerMN

in_the_stars wrote: »

I agree, one of the reasons I track micros and don't really care about the rest. I'm here for health, fitness and my friends, though.. not weight loss.

Smartest thing I've read all day.

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TrailBlazerMN

ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »

I wouldn't give any serious thought to anything Hyman has to say.

Because.....??

TrailBlazerMN

MrM27 wrote: »

Lol, Dr. Hyman.

Let me guess you also follow Dr. Lustig on Facebook?

I don't follow anyone. I read every article with an open mind. How about you?

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

TrailBlazerMN wrote: »

ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »

I wouldn't give any serious thought to anything Hyman has to say.

Because.....??

Because once a person has mangled autism science and bought into the idea of detoxing they've officially lost all credibility as far as I'm concerned. YMMV

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/09/08/dr-mark-hyman-mangles-autism-science-on/

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

To be clear, however, I also don't think that calories "are the end all be all to building a truly healthy body" and I've *very* rarely encountered anyone who did think that. To weight loss, yes, calories are what matter (although the type of food you choose will have an impact on satiety). To health, almost everyone will tell you that micros and macros matter.


edited for typo

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TrailBlazerMN

ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »

Because once a person has mangled autism science and bought into the idea of detoxing they've officially lost all credibility as far as I'm concerned. YMMV

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/09/08/dr-mark-hyman-mangles-autism-science-on/

It seems we have conventional medicine vs alternative medicine. Since peer-reviewed studies rarely ever test out alternative medicine treatments, it's tough to find them.

MrM27 wrote: »

Yup and I do. And over the years of reading many articles, abstracts, studies, science etc I have determined.........Quacks.

Also, I hope you don't think you're the first person to post that article here and that we've never seen it before. Because it has and we have.

I'm not on here too much since I do have a life outside of MFP. I couldn't imagine trying to keep up with everything on here and starting interweb debates. Sounds like an exciting and fulfilling life but just not for me. Sorry.

I appreciate your input. Thank you.

Khukhullatus

TrailBlazerMN wrote: »

JossFit wrote: »

Calories absolutely matter... it's called science.

You mean the law of thermodynamics?

if so, what is your take on this:

"Newton’s first law of thermodynamics states that the energy of an isolated system is constant. In other words, in a laboratory, or “isolated system,” 1,000 calories of broccoli and 1,000 calories of soda are, in fact, the same. I’m not saying Newton was wrong about that. It’s true that when burned in a laboratory setting, 1,000 calories of broccoli and 1,000 calories of soda would indeed release the same amount of energy.

But sorry, Mr. Newton; your law of thermodynamics doesn’t apply in living, breathing, digesting systems. When you eat food, the “isolated system” part of the equation goes out the window. The food interacts with your biology, a complex adaptive system that instantly transforms every bite."

um . . . Newton was responsible for the laws of motion. The man most directly responsible for presenting the first law of thermodynamics as a whole, which you are mangling incidentally, was Rudolf Clausius. Newton did publish papers that had to do with cooling within a system, but they were based on largely flawed assumptions of the time, and so, through no fault of Mr Newton, turned out to be . . . off the mark. That could be what is throwing you.

Regardless, this is a horrible argument for your cause. Even if you were 100% right, trying to pretend it has anything to do with the conservation of energy is just clumsy.

chrisdavey

Anyone who says all calories are equal is dumb. Macros, TEF etc matter.

Anyone who says calories are not the single most important factor for weight loss or gain is lying and trying to sell you something. (or just dumb)

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Sabine_Stroehm

JossFit wrote: »

Calories absolutely matter... it's called science. This article is just using an eye-catching headline to draw readers, but it's misleading.

I have a degree in Nutrition Science and have a successful business working as an online coach (nutrition and training) and each one of my clients diets are based on calorie consumption first and foremost.

Besides, what the article states is not that they don't matter, it's that they don't all get processed in the same way, which is true;

"What I’m trying to illustrate here (and this is probably the single most important idea in this book) is that all calories are NOT created equal. The same number of calories from different types of food can have very different biological effects."

This is simply restating what we all know to be true; nutrient dense foods are going to be better for your overall health and metabolic function, and macronutrients serve different purposes in the body.

Eye catching is eye catching. That's for sure.

toogsmom

Calories matter in this..... 100 calories of crap is still crap! 100 calories of good unprocessed natural whole foods is exactly that 100 calories of good! People like to walk around counting calories ,staying under there limit for the day while so many of the calories they are taking in are from crappy foods that your body simply realizes as CRAP!!!

lemurcat12

People like to walk around counting calories ,staying under there limit for the day while so many of the calories they are taking in are from crappy foods that your body simply realizes as CRAP!!!

Hmm, and we've been told that it's only the calorie counters who are judgy.

I try to eat a healthy diet, but the fact is that I can get fat on a healthy diet just as I can get fat on "crap" (whatever we define that as--your definition may differ from mine, for example if you like boneless, skinless chicken breast I'll point out that that's far from unprocessed, so you've just defined it as "crap," apparently). And one of the best things I can do for my health is not get fat again. For me, it's easier to avoid getting fat if I eat a healthy diet, but it's not ALL that's necessary--I have to also monitor the amount I'm eating (count calories or some other such tactic, such as focusing on portions and the like) and I have to remain active. So for ME making it just about micros would not work. I was focusing on eating a healthy diet made up of whole foods (in fact I was much more fussy about eating "naturally") when gained the first significant amount of the weight I gained (and then kind of fell into a nasty cycle).

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toogsmom

Obviously most of us on here are counting calories. The whole my fitness pal diary part, when you add your foods it shows you calories. So I would think that the majority of mfp users are in essence counting calories. The point I was making is calories matter. However most of us know people that go to the gym and count calories all the while a significant part of thier calories are still coming from less than desirable food choices. yes while weight loss and maintaining a healthy way definitely comes from calories in and calories out. We need to make wise choices about the types of calories we are consuming and how they affect the overall health of our bodies.

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ILiftHeavyAcrylics

TrailBlazerMN wrote: »

It seems we have conventional medicine vs alternative medicine. Since peer-reviewed studies rarely ever test out alternative medicine treatments, it's tough to find them.

That's absolutely untrue. Alt med gets tested all the time; I read the reviews of the studies whenever I can find them. When the so-called link between autism and vaccines was reported there were a slew of additional studies. None of them found a link, and then the original doctor was discredited and lost his license. The "debate" is over.