Calories and Nutrition, a primer on a calorie is a calorie

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ndj1979
ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
in Food and Nutrition
All calories are equal in the sense that they provide a unit of energy. So, 100 calories of carrots = 100 calories of cake, from an energy standpoint.

However, all calories DO NOT have the same nutritional profile, and THAT is where they differ. So, one will not get the same amount of nutrients from 100 calories of carrots and 100 calories of cake.

In the grand scheme of things what is going to matter is context and dosage of the foods that comprise ones overall diet. In other words, there are no bad foods, just bad diets.

Make sure that you are hitting your calorie targets, meeting macro requirements, and get adequate nutrition (micros). Oh, and continue to include in your diet the foods that you like.

This does not mean that it is OK to eat donuts and pizza for 100% of one's calories, it simply means that including donuts and pizza as a part of one's diet does not make it unhealthy.
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Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Good words and good luck with this one! ;)
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Good words and good luck with this one! ;)

    it needed to be laid out ...

    :)
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
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    I'd hit more reactions if I could. I went with Awesome.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    You've just made me ponder carrot cake. If I eat 100 cals of it, does the carrot counteract the cake?

    Is there a decadent thick layer of delicious cream cheese frosting?





    Man, now I want carrot cake.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    I admire your perseverance!

    and will now go back to eating my chocolate pudding. :smile:
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    Bravo @ndj1979 !
  • kclaar11
    kclaar11 Posts: 162 Member
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    malibu927 wrote: »
    In before the awesomeness of this post gets trampled on

    Without mentioning names, I have a pretty good idea of who (and what) will trample on it.
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
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    This is an excellent primer. Thank you @ndj1979.

    For those who would like to further brush up on the subject, I would suggest starting with the below link. It is a quick read. Of course, there are also excellent references listed at the bottom of that link for those who want to broaden their knowledge.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_energy
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
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    The fun part of this that always goes completely off the rails is that the definition of "good nutrition" is not nearly as standard as the definition of a "calorie". The energy in food is relatively known, and if you eat less than you burn, you lose weight. Easy to agree on.

    But if I say something like "Carbohydrates are part of good nutrition", we'll instantly have the keto cult in here to explain why they're not. The required amounts of various vitamins and minerals are kind of fuzzy definitions. What makes a food "low nutrition" is also hard to pin down, and depends on your goals.

    Which is why we tend to say "a calorie is a calorie, eat what you want but not too much". Details are hard.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    Cosigned.
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
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    annacole94 wrote: »
    The fun part of this that always goes completely off the rails is that the definition of "good nutrition" is not nearly as standard as the definition of a "calorie". The energy in food is relatively known, and if you eat less than you burn, you lose weight. Easy to agree on.

    But if I say something like "Carbohydrates are part of good nutrition", we'll instantly have the keto cult in here to explain why they're not. The required amounts of various vitamins and minerals are kind of fuzzy definitions. What makes a food "low nutrition" is also hard to pin down, and depends on your goals.

    Which is why we tend to say "a calorie is a calorie, eat what you want but not too much". Details are hard.

    The "but your body processes sugar differently" post will be coming along any minute now...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    CyberTone wrote: »
    This is an excellent primer. Thank you @ndj1979.

    For those who would like to further brush up on the subject, I would suggest starting with the below link. It is a quick read. Of course, there are also excellent references listed at the bottom of that link for those who want to broaden their knowledge.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_energy

    Thanks
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    OP--I admire your courage--carry on.
  • DJ_Skywalker
    DJ_Skywalker Posts: 420 Member
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    An entire pizza took all my calories last night
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    Jruzer wrote: »
    I propose the OP gets pasted into every single thread where someone asks if it's OK if they have a treat every night, or if they can eat "junk" food, or why "clean" eating is the only way to lose weight. Then the collective community can't be blamed for "not mentioning nutrition", or for implying that cake = broccoli, or any of the other common straw persons.

    It may not convince the diehards, but it may help the multitude of lurkers.

    Cosign

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