Which one to choose

GaleHawkins wrote: »

uncgooda wrote: »

I’m looking up foods and there are 1000 listings for the same food. “None of them agree on calories” same food, same portion size and calories can vary tremendously. A chicken breast, or a pice of beef, by cut and there is no consistency. Are all of the foods member added? If so how do you know what to trust as being correct? If I have to do my own research on each food I will but what a pain. Was hoping the Appnwould provide verified data on foods.

@uncgooda the main reason the difference is we can never know the number of calories (CI) because we are all different. 100 calories of food may only yield 75 calories of energy in one person but 125 useful calories to another person. Then there are just mistakes along the way to the labs to the printers. That is before we factor in the FDA 20% over or under counting rule.

berkeleywellness.com/healthy-eating/nutrition/article/can-you-trust-calorie-counts

A couple clips from the above link as samples are pasted below.

"The FDA allows food companies wide latitude in the accuracy of the calories listed on package labels—20 percent in either direction. That means if a label says 200 calories per serving, it could be 240 calories or 160 calories or anything in between. What’s more, the FDA doesn’t do any systematic policing of labels to ensure that calorie counts meet even that lax degree of accuracy. The responsibility for label accuracy remains with the food companies, from national manufacturers to regional or local vendors. It basically works on the honor system."

"Are “healthier” food options less prone to such discrepancies? Apparently not. In a study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2010, researchers purchased 39 reduced-calorie frozen meals (such as Weight Watchers and Healthy Choice) and foods from chain restaurants (such as Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Applebee’s). Again, testing in a calorimeter revealed that calorie counts were usually understated. The frozen foods averaged 8 percent more calories than labeled. Meanwhile, restaurant foods averaged 18 percent more calories, with a few actually containing twice as many calories as stated on menus or menu boards."