Calories...wtf???

shartran
shartran Posts: 304 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ok...I just read (written by a doctor) who commented that 1/2 cup of raw, sunflower seeds were only 100 calories. Lovely.

Then I am sourcing out the seeds in this database...I've found anything from 340 - 680 calories/cup...

I've noticed this discrepancy (as I'm sure you have too) with so many food items. It's hard to know what to trust!!

Frustrating

Replies

  • rejectuf
    rejectuf Posts: 487 Member
    What you read is not correct. One cup of sunflower seeds (about 128g) is 745 calories.

    Nuts and seeds are really dense when it comes to calories. They're great for if you're trying to put on weight, but you need to be a little careful around them if you're trying to lose.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Your doctor is very wrong. Sunflower seeds have a very high fat content (hence their use for making sunflower oil).
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    Does this "Dr" by any chance go by the name of Oz?
  • AnabolicKyle
    AnabolicKyle Posts: 489 Member
    in shell vs not in shell???

    i dont think all of the calories of nuts are digested so it would probably be safe to assume the digested calories be about 10% less

    1 cup in shell 270
    1/2 cup in shell 135
    10%less 120cals
  • climbing_trees
    climbing_trees Posts: 726 Member
    Maybe it was sunflower seeds in the shell?
    That could take up a significant amount of space.

    When you remove the shell, the total volume decreases.
    (Assuming you don't eat the shell)
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
    Does this "Dr" by any chance go by the name of Oz?


    High-Five-GIF-1.gif
  • fallingtrees
    fallingtrees Posts: 220 Member
    Yeah, that must be in the shell.

    It would take me a while to eat a half-cup of sunflower seeds in the shell. Whereas, shelled, I can pop them by the handful.

    Fortunately, I'm not a big sunflower seed fanatic. I think it goes back to an early childhood trauma. Sunflower seeds were the Chia of the '70s, and my dad would sneak them into pancakes, omelets, meat loaf...
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    in shell vs not in shell???

    i dont think all of the calories of nuts are digested so it would probably be safe to assume the digested calories be about 10% less

    1 cup in shell 270
    1/2 cup in shell 135
    10%less 120cals

    wait-what-gif.gif
  • WandaWoman41
    WandaWoman41 Posts: 153 Member
    Does this "Dr" by any chance go by the name of Oz?

    Too funny. I wonder about MFP calorie estimates as well. I need to grossly overstate what I log. Sardine calories are 250 or 125 depending on if you drink the oil or not.
  • 1stday13
    1stday13 Posts: 433 Member
    Does this "Dr" by any chance go by the name of Oz?
    LMAO!!! :laugh: :laugh: :noway:
  • socalkay
    socalkay Posts: 746 Member
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods
  • Cheyenneorfat
    Cheyenneorfat Posts: 4 Member
    in shell vs not in shell???

    i dont think all of the calories of nuts are digested so it would probably be safe to assume the digested calories be about 10% less

    1 cup in shell 270
    1/2 cup in shell 135
    10%less 120cals

    wait-what-gif.gif

    that gif is exactly what I am sitting here doing....so many questions that I cannot put into words! Can this be explained further or don't I want to know!!
  • shartran
    shartran Posts: 304 Member
    Thanks...
    Just in case you want to know...it wasn't Dr. Oz (LOL!!!!)

    Article was reviewed by: Dr. Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

    Article written by Health editor: Wyatt Myers


    I knew it sounded too good to be true...so does that mean I can't believe everything on the internet??? lol...
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    in shell vs not in shell???

    i dont think all of the calories of nuts are digested so it would probably be safe to assume the digested calories be about 10% less

    1 cup in shell 270
    1/2 cup in shell 135
    10%less 120cals

    wait-what-gif.gif

    that gif is exactly what I am sitting here doing....so many questions that I cannot put into words! Can this be explained further or don't I want to know!!

    Perhaps the times and effort taken in getting them out of shells accounts for that 10% of calories.
  • AnabolicKyle
    AnabolicKyle Posts: 489 Member
    the total volume of in shell sunflower seeds is much greater than out of shell sunflower seeds.

    people dont eat the shell so its much less calories per volume.



    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2012/06/28/ajcn.112.035782.full.pdf+html

    "The Atwater factors,
    when applied to almonds, resulted in a 32% overestimation of their
    measured energy content." (to almonds)

    maybe this study is flawed i have no idea, but until someone explains to me why its wrong iam going with nuts calorie content are not as high as stated
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    OP, seeds and nuts are very calorie dense...very nutritious, but very calorie dense.

    I would suggest also just looking at the back of the package and using a food scale...input the brand and find it in MFP rather than using some generic entry. And if you're going to use a generic entry, put "USDA" after it. You'll need to determine if the data base entry is for seeded or shell on as well as there will be a difference.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    the total volume of in shell sunflower seeds is much greater than out of shell sunflower seeds.

    people dont eat the shell so its much less calories per volume.



    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2012/06/28/ajcn.112.035782.full.pdf+html

    "The Atwater factors,
    when applied to almonds, resulted in a 32% overestimation of their
    measured energy content." (to almonds)

    maybe this study is flawed i have no idea, but until someone explains to me why its wrong iam going with nuts calorie content are not as high as stated

    Okay....? Most foods are not 100% accurate anyway. Some are over, some are under. Calorie content on nutrition labels is "generally accepted values" for the ingredients. Food logging is not 100% accurate no matter how precise we think we are. There's also no 100% accurate way to determine your TDEE. Calculators are estimates and even the tracking devices use generally accepted values. It doesn't mean we are hopeless, but do you really think it matters if there's 10 less calories than estimated.
  • AnabolicKyle
    AnabolicKyle Posts: 489 Member
    the point of my comment was to determine that 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds in shell is pretty close to 100cals




    does 10calories matter, no.
    but a 32% overestimate of calorie density does
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,833 Member
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods

    THIS. The USDA database is very handy and used by food manufacturers and labellers around the world.

    They do not give numbers for sunflower seeds in the shell but only the kernels. 1 cup (134g) of toasted sunflower seed kernels is listed as 829 calories. 1/2 a cup of sunflower seed kernels is about 415 calories.
  • jjulliee
    jjulliee Posts: 40 Member
    Nuts and seeds are high in fat, but I believe, heart-healthy fats. They are also high in protein, low in carbs, and higher in fiber. Now that I've learned that fat isn't the enemy, I eat nuts and seeds on a daily basis, but I do follow serving sizes...for most, a serving is 1/4 cup. I don't have any sunflower seeds on hand right now, but they seem to be higher in fat than most of the nuts I eat. The last package I had also had added oil because they were roasted, so I'm sure that increases the calorie content. I eat nuts alone or in trail mix as a snack and after exercising. I love potato chips and sweets, so they're been a good alternative to both.
  • shartran
    shartran Posts: 304 Member
    One more thing about this...I re-read the article and it clearly stated that:

    "1/2 cup of SHELLED, unsalted, raw sunflower seeds" was only 100 calories.



    Just one more jab at this 'informative' article...
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    This is why you need to weigh things. Cups is not an accurate way to measure solids as its a measure of volume. All nuts and seeds are pretty high in calorific value though they contain lots of good things.
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
    This is why you need to weigh things. Cups is not an accurate way to measure solids as its a measure of volume. All nuts and seeds are pretty high in calorific value though they contain lots of good things.

    This. Plus, once you verify (with the USDA site) an entry is correct, it becomes part of your list of foods. Just use that entry from now on. The MFP database is disastrous. There is chicken with no protein, tomatoes with no potassium, cookies with no fat. Verify, verify, verify.

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