What are empty calories?
Empty calories refer to the amount of energy present in certain energy-intensive, low-nutrition foods. In such foods, energy comes mainly from processed carbohydrates or fats and sometimes even ethanol. Typically, empty calories will contain the same amount of energy as regular calories, but the nutritional benefits are meager, such as a lack of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, dietary fiber, and antioxidants. Consuming empty calories increases weight, so anyone who wants to lose weight should avoid them. Some examples of non-calorie foods are soft drinks, jellies, ice cream, sweets, candies, margarine, white rice, white bread, butter, fats, alcoholic beverages, beer, wine and greasy spam such as burgers, pizza, hot dogs. , fried chicken and fries.
Are all the calories created equal?
The answer is no; not all calories are created equal. It is a common myth in the world of fitness that losing weight or gaining weight is simply a matter of how many calories you consume and how much you have burned; that is, calories are the same whether they are derived from protein, fat, or carbohydrates. But it is not. For example; consider two groups – Group A consumes 2,000 calories from pizzas, soft drinks, hot dogs and coffee, and Group B consumes the same 2,000 calories but from vegetables, fruits, chicken, fish and oatmeal. Now, could you say that group B calories are better than group A? This is because the nutritional value of calories consumed by group B is much higher than that of group A, making it different.
Does the body process all calories equally? For example; 100 eggs in a pack compared to 120 bananas in a banana?
Until now, it has been thought that all calories in our body are processed and metabolized in the same way. But research shows otherwise; our body responds very differently to calories depending on its source and mode of consumption. The caloric content of different sources such as protein, fat and carbohydrates is similar, but the body processes each of them differently. This is because the body has to release different amounts of energy to process and metabolize various nutrients and calories; protein processing consumes more energy than carbohydrates and more energy to process carbohydrates than fat. So 120 calories from a banana for your body adds fewer calories than a 100 Cal pack.
Does the body digest calories equally at different times of the day?
It was believed that time has nothing to do with how our body digests calories, so you can eat at any time of the day without worry. However, a recent study revealed that there is actually an inappropriate time to eat. While there are conflicting reports, there is ample and more circumstantial evidence to show that bad eating habits and improper timing definitely affect the body as it processes and metabolizes calories. Although the digestive process in the body remains the same, it has been observed that eating late at night often results in weight gain and other digestive problems compared to people who ate early. However, none of them has been fully proven, so the issue is still debatable.
