The Calorie Myth:

All Calories are Created Equal...?

All calories are created equal. Losing weight is as simple as cutting down on your caloric intake and increasing your energy expenditure by exercising more. So if you’re overweight you simply need to “eat less and exercise more”. Have you heard this before? If you have, you might also be aware that this isn't true.

Good and Bad Foods

If it was that simple then we wouldn’t be facing a worldwide obesity epidemic. You would not be complaining of how hard it is to lose weight. Here’s the harsh truth. Despite what we have been told, not every calorie acts the same in the body. How your body handles the calories you eat depends on which foods those calories came from and their effect on the hormone insulin.

Insulin is often referred to as the fat storage hormone. Its main job is to get excess glucose out of the bloodstream and into the cells (including the fat cells). This protects you from the dangerous effects of high blood glucose. After your cells have been fuelled,

any excess glucose is then stored in your fat cells for future use (in case of famine). This means that the higher the insulin levels in your blood, the more fat storage is taking place.

You might ask, “what causes high levels of insulin in your blood?”. Well let’s look at how calories from different foods affect your insulin levels. Your calories can come from proteins, fats and carbohydrates so let’s compare them:

Food Group	Protein	Fat	Carbohydrate	Carbohydrate from fruit & vegetables

Types of Foods in Each Group	Meat, fish, egg whites, dairy products, legumes, nuts	Butter, cream, cheese, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado, egg yolks, lard, nuts, seeds	Simple sugars e.g. white and brown sugar,Wheat products e.g. bread, pasta, pastries, pizza etc. Corn, rice and other grains,potatoes	Non-starchy vegetablesFruit
Effect on Insulin	Minimal release of insulin	No insulin release when eaten alone	A large release or spike of insulin	Moderate release of insulin - fibre slows down the absorption of glucose
Ability to Promote Satiety	Protein quickly makes you feel full and satisfied	Fat very quickly makes you feel full and satisfied	Carbohydrates from grains and starches often leave you wanting something more	Fibre in these foods helps you to feel full
Effect on Energy Levels	Provides stable, long lasting energy	Provides stable, long lasting energy	Provides high energy for a short time followed by a big drop in energy	Provides moderate energy (not as long lasting as fat & protein)

**We have separated fruit and vegetables from other carbohydrates because when they are eaten in their whole, unprocessed form they supply many important nutrients and their fibre content minimises their effect on insulin levels.

As you can see you from our table, if you eat a diet rich in protein, fats and vegetables you are much less likely to store fat than those eating the same amount of calories from foods full of sugars and refined carbohydrates. Your body will be releasing much less insulin than theirs because proteins, fats and vegetables don’t require a lot of insulin, while refined carbohydrates and sugars do. If you are thinking, “But doesn't fat make you fat?” and “Isn't fat bad?” Check out our article “The Fat Story” which deals to another common myth.

Healthy Food

Actually sugars and refined carbohydrates often make you eat more because of the way they cause spikes and drops in your blood glucose. When your blood glucose drops you crave more sugar or refined carbohydrates to quickly top up your energy again. It can become a vicious cycle and over time leads to a parade of chronic diseases (diabetes type II, fatty liver, heart disease, Grandparents Food

Alzheimer's disease).

So, is it important to pay attention to where your calories come from?

We’ll leave this question to you to answer. Hopefully you can see that weight and health has everything to do with the types of calories you eat, not just the amount.

If we could sum up everything regarding the calorie myth in a short summary, it would come out like this:

Just Eat Real Food. Remember the foods your grandparents ate? Most of them knew these basic principles and were brought up on real, home cooked foods using raw materials. None of this packaged stuff and fast food delivered to your door. It may take more time to prepare, but you will live a longer, healthier life as a result.