New Scientist Report : The calorie delusion

Forum guidelines BT super discount
General Discussion Triathlon Talk » New Scientist Report : The calorie delusion Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply
2009-07-18 2:36 PM

Member
35
25
Subject: New Scientist Report : The calorie delusion

The calorie delusion: Why food labels are wrong

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327171.200-the-calorie-delusion-why-food-labels-are-wrong.html?full=true

Theres been a few arguments about all calories being created equal or not so this article explores the science which I thought some may find interesting.It comes down to how much our bodies can actually extract from the various food sources over what it excretes unprocessed, and it turns out that there can be as much as a 30% difference over the stated calorie values.

So in the example used, eating a 300 kcal nut-based muesli bar will be fewer calories actually digested by the body than a 250 kcal chocolate brownie.

So in essence the perennial debate is not so much a question on if a calorie = a calorie, but rather what % of the currently stated calories of a given foodstuff can your body digest?

 

2009-07-18 11:18 PM
in reply to: #2293515

User image

Champion
7233
5000200010010025
Subject: RE: New Scientist Report : The calorie delusion
ok................
2009-07-19 6:14 AM
in reply to: #2293973

User image

Pro
4353
200020001001001002525
Wallingford, PA
Subject: RE: New Scientist Report : The calorie delusion
Oh, great..... just one more study to confuse us about what and how much we should eat.....THANKS A LOT!!!
2009-07-19 1:16 PM
in reply to: #2293515

User image

Expert
1073
10002525
scottsdale, az
Subject: RE: New Scientist Report : The calorie delusion
I believe it.
2009-07-19 1:22 PM
in reply to: #2293515

User image

Expert
1123
1000100
Falls Church, VA
Subject: RE: New Scientist Report : The calorie delusion
So is the thermic effect of food a new topic in these parts? 


(one of the reasons that a high-protein diet is promoted for weight loss is that it takes 30% of the calories in protein just to digest it)

There should be a caveat in the notion that a calorie is a calorie in that once you meet your protein needs for the day*, the rest of the calories are just calories. 

*and protein needs vary depending on energy balance..
2009-07-19 1:45 PM
in reply to: #2294415

User image

Champion
7233
5000200010010025
Subject: RE: New Scientist Report : The calorie delusion
see the thing is, what is this really changing about what we already knew?

your body is going to absorb some/most of what you eat, to what extent depends on the person and what you are eating/when,

if you thought before reading this that your body absorbed everything you ate you are not paying attention all that well,

not to gross anyone out, but take a look at poop, crap, dung, fecal mater, call it what you will- there are plenty of animals out there that eat parts/thigns out of this , there are bits of food in there, that on its own should be a oogd indication you are not burning through everything.



2009-07-19 10:29 PM
in reply to: #2294415

Subject: RE: New Scientist Report : The calorie delusion
Bioteknik - 2009-07-19 2:22 PM So is the thermic effect of food a new topic in these parts? 

(one of the reasons that a high-protein diet is promoted for weight loss is that it takes 30% of the calories in protein just to digest it)

There should be a caveat in the notion that a calorie is a calorie in that once you meet your protein needs for the day*, the rest of the calories are just calories. 

*and protein needs vary depending on energy balance..


I think the article is trying to point out that if you grind and cook that protein as a hamburger, it becomes more digestible than if it had been a medium rare piece of sirloin.  So a protein calorie is not the same across all scenarios.  I think the studies pertaining to that are the new ground. (see page 2 of the article) 

Anyway, I thought it was a good article. 


Edited by DMW 2009-07-19 10:30 PM
New Thread
General Discussion Triathlon Talk » New Scientist Report : The calorie delusion Rss Feed