What is Caloric Density? The End of Portion Control.
How Do We Know When We've Eaten Enough?
What we pay most attention to over the short haul is the volume and weight of food. We've done experiments on humans, and guess what, we're just like other animals. Feed us two diets for several days. One diet is mostly food that is low in calories so that four pounds per day contains 1500 calories. The other diet is high in calories, so that four pounds contains 2500 calories. Guess what? Everybody eats roughly the same weight and volume of food and then stops eating. Both are satisfied. Oops. Someone just ate 1000 more calories than the other person and didn't even realize it.
One more thing, liquids do not count towards feeling full, unless they are in the form of soups or stews. Soups and stews do seem to count toward a sense of fullness. These are a great way to feel satisfied and cut back on calories.
On the other hand, drinks don't seem to affect how much you eat. So a glass of milk or soda will not count toward the four pounds or the volume of food you need to feel satisfied. This is likely why the consumption of juices, milk, and sodas are linked to increased weight gain. Caloric density as discussed in the next paragraph doesn't apply to drinks.
Now, you’re going to point out that there is also a mechanism for determine how many calories you eat. Yes, but is not very efficient. Studies looking at this issue have shown that when low calorie density foods are substituted for high calorie foods, people never quite make up the difference by eating more. They always come up substantially short. People do eat more volume and fewer calories with a diet full of low caloric density foods though they feel just as satisfied as they did on their previous diet.
Caloric and Nutrient Density
This is easy. Take the calories in a food and divide it by the weight. Which is more calorically dense, 100 grams of cheese or 100 grams of banana. The cheese, of course, with 403 calories per 100 grams. Bananas are only about 89 calories per 100 grams.
Which has more calories, 100 grams of lean steak or 100 grams of spinach? The lean steak, of course, with 348 calories. The spinach has 23 calories.
How about sweet potato or chicken at 100 grams each? The sweet potato only has 90 calories, while the chicken has 197 calories in 100 grams. Oops, I guess if you are following a low carbohydrate diet and avoiding sweet potatoes, then you must be eating tiny portions of chicken. I can eat two times as much sweet potato as you can chicken for the same calories.
Overly processed foods are also a problem. I advise avoiding processed, refined plant foods. Bagels are an example of a refined flour product. Bagels come in at 257 calories per 100 grams while cooked oatmeal which is unrefined has 71 calories per 100 grams. Oatmeal will be a better choice for breakfast.
Extracted oils are deadly. These are oils that are pressed out of plants, like olive oil extracted from olives. All oils are the same number of calories. 884 calories per 100 grams. With extracted oils, you can quickly add calories to a meal and not increase the weight or volume at all. Your body will never know the oil has been added. These are excess calories and do not contribute meaningfully to the feeling of being full and satisfied.
Combine cheese, meats, extracted oils, and refined plant foods like white flour and you get a Meat Lover's Pizza Hut pizza coming in at 248 calories per 100 grams. Oops, that's not even one slice. One slice is 129 grams and 320 calories.
To take the caloric density idea to an even higher level, I would add the concept of Nutrient Density. This is where you take look at the ratio of nutrients to calories. With this concept, you try to maximize the nutrient to calorie ratio so that you are consistently choosing foods that have more nutrients than calories. Luckily, eating a plant-based diet naturally helps you start eating this way.
Dr. Fuhrman Discusses Nutrient Density
For a Discussion on How Your Brain Becomes Addicted to High Calorie Artificial Food
How to Escape the Pleasure Trap!
By Douglas Lisle, Ph.D. and Alan Goldhamer , D.C.
Authors of The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health and Happiness
A Video Lecture on the Addictive Nature of Some Foods
Breaking the Food Seduction Video By Dr. Neal Barnard
Dr. Barnard’s Book Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings—and Seven Steps to End Them Naturally
Return to Moving Toward a Plant-Based Diet
or Continue with the Next Topic - Are You Sure Making Moderate Changes Is a Good Idea?