THIS WEEK’S “ASK GILAD” BLOG

Question: I have calculated how many calories I can eat per day.  So what is the difference if I eat fatty foods instead of fruits and vegetables?  Calories are calories, right?

Answer: For one thing, (and this doesn't even take into account the adverse effects of saturated fats on your body) ....
Back when counting calories was all the rage, people used to think that all they had to do was eat whatever they wanted as long as they stopped when they hit their calorie limit for the day. So eating 1,400 calories of ice cream was considered the same as eating 1,400 calories of carrots. But now we understand that is NOT the case. Actually, eating 1,400 fat calories will provide the body with 1,358 calories for energy use and fat storage because fat is really simple to digest. But eating 1,400 carbohydrate or protein calories will provide the body with only 1,120 calories for energy use and fat storage because your body will burn 238 more calories digesting them. So you actually force an extra 238 calories on your body by eating fat calories.
We all know which foods are healthy for us. It is well worth the effort to try to improve your diet a little bit each day.

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