EMPTY CALORIES

An empty calorie is merely a calorie that comes with no other nutritional benefit. Calories are very important in that they supply us with the energy we need to live. We can get calories from just about everything we eat, whether it's a tablespoon of sugar, or a tablespoon of scrambled egg. However, we need more than calories to live, we also need other nutrients, like vitamins, mineral, and protein.

In fact, we can't use the calories we take in unless we have some of those other nutrients. For example, B vitamins are important in helping to release the energy from the food. It is like a key to getting into the calorie. Most foods supply more than just calories. An egg contains about 70 calories. It also contains lots of protein, iron, zinc, and other important vitamins. So, when you eat calories from an egg, you are getting other things too.

However, some foods supply calories, and little or nothing else. For example, that tablespoon of sugar contains 50 calories, but no other nutrients. We therefore call those calories "empty". Empty calories aren't inherently bad. But the fact of the matter is, only a few select people have room in their diets for empty calories. Most women, who eat about 1600 calories a day, need to eat that much food to get all the essential nutrients that they need. Only in that amount of food, properly selected, will they get enough iron, zinc, B vitamins, etc. to meet their needs. If they eat much more than that amount of calories, unless they are very active, they will put on weight.

To get the nutrients you need in the amount of calories you can afford, most foods must come with nutrients. Only active athletes, mainly young athletic men, can afford to eat many empty calories. Because they need so many calories to fuel their active lifestyle they can get all the necessary nutrients plus have room for extra calories in their diet. A small, inactive women, who drinks a soda (empty calories) will probably not drink that glass of milk (calories, plus protein, calcium, vitamin D) for fear of putting on weight, but she will also fall short of her daily need for calcium, and perhaps vitamin D as well. However, a 17-year-old cross-country runner can drink four glasses of milk, and still have room in his calorie needs for a couple of soft drinks.

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