not ALL calories are created EQUALLY!

amers55
amers55 Posts: 46
edited September 29 in Food and Nutrition
I read a really interesting article about how calories are consumed. Like your body takes in calories from say brocolli different than it does say chocolate or bread. This was news to me! I know what is healthy and what is crap but didn't know that calories aren't the same "measurement" in certain words... I just wanted to put this out there encase anyone else didn't know this... and get other thoughts and opinions. Sorry I don't have the article to post but im sure I found it through man.com fitbie

Replies

  • barenda_101
    barenda_101 Posts: 18
    A calorie is a pretty standard measurement, thermodynamically speaking. Could you clarify in what way a calorie of broccoli and a calorie of chocolate would differ besides on other nutrients one takes with it?
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
    Sure..just like its different from protein and carbs

    a calorie is simply a unit of measure..its the type of foods you eat with their own nutrients and characteristics that will make your body perform at its optimum.
  • joehempel
    joehempel Posts: 1,543 Member
    A calorie is a pretty standard measurement, thermodynamically speaking. Could you clarify in what way a calorie of broccoli and a calorie of chocolate would differ besides on other nutrients one takes with it?

    Yup, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Doesn't matter where it comes from...what matters is what comes WITH those calories.
  • pkarim
    pkarim Posts: 171
    yes absolutely! I had a disagreement with my friend about this, I told her to think of it as 540 calories from a big mac is completely different from consuming 540 calories from fruits and veggies. Your body uses them differently and you get different nutrients from them and the fruits and veggies will benefit your more so then the big mac.
  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
    A calorie is a pretty standard measurement, thermodynamically speaking. Could you clarify in what way a calorie of broccoli and a calorie of chocolate would differ besides on other nutrients one takes with it?
    The calorie measures are in vitro. Calories are absorbed in vivo.
    So if you are eating hundreds of calories of non starchy vegetables, it's debatable whether you absorb many of them in reality.
  • amers55
    amers55 Posts: 46
    Ok the article is under msn.com then fitbie then lose weight "5 myths about calories"
  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
    yes absolutely! I had a disagreement with my friend about this, I told her to think of it as 540 calories from a big mac is completely different from consuming 540 calories from fruits and veggies. Your body uses them differently and you get different nutrients from them and the fruits and veggies will benefit your more so then the big mac.

    Actually, you don't get the macronutrients from the calories, you get the calories from the macronutrients. Each nutrient has a different density of calories and how our bodies break those down is how efficiently we use those nutrients and those calories. So... a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. If you're worried about getting adequate nutrition you can still each that big mac as well as a bunch of other healthy stuff and still lose weight. Just look at my ticker :)
  • pkarim
    pkarim Posts: 171
    It's true a calorie is a calorie, but to have a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, good nutrients and bad nutrients have to be balanced. It's great that you've lose 14 pounds doing that. But the point is a big mac doesn't not give you the same amount of nutrition as fruits or veggies. I've lost 70 pounds this past year and i didn't do it by eating big macs lol.
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