If there’s one thing most of us obsess over on a day-to-day basis, it’s calories.  Whether it’s how many we’re consuming each time we eat or how many we’re burning during our workouts, we’ve definitely become a calorie conscious society.  Though taking stock of the number of calories we’re eating daily is integral to maintaining a healthy diet, another issue just as important but infrequently discussed is caloric density or CD. What exactly is caloric density? It’s the calorie content of the food you’re eating by weight.

Determining the CD of what you’re eating is an essential measurement to have if you’re trying to eat well or shed unwanted pounds.  If you have a tendency to eat too many foods with a high CD, then you’re taking in way too many calories in one sitting. If weight loss is your ultimate goal your objective should be to take in fewer calories by eating foods that have a low CD.  Of course, the benefit of consuming low calorically dense foods is that you can eat MORE.  For those of you on a diet plan it doesn’t get any better than that because it gives you the opportunity to eat without the guilt of taking in an excessive amount of calories. 

By now I’m sure it’s obvious to you which foods have the lowest CD – fruit and vegetables. Yet another reason why eating whole, unprocessed, plant-based nutrition is the best diet in the world!  Whatever your specific dietary preference, knowing how to calculate the caloric density of your food intake is valuable information to have.  And it’s quite easy to do!  All it requires is that you take two numbers off the food label – the number of calories per serving AND the weight (in grams) per serving.  Next you divide the calories by the weight in grams and the numeric result is the caloric density. In order to gauge whether the number you got is good, decent or just downright bad, use the following ranges:

to 0.7        = Very Low
0.8 to 1.5 = Low to Moderate
1.6 to 3.0 = Moderate to High
3.1  + up  = Very High Caloric Density

Now, let’s see how this actually translates to a few foods that are commonly eaten:

• An average sized apple contains about 72 calories and weighs approximately 132 grams. If we divide the 72 calories by 132 grams the caloric density of this apple is .54 (78 cal/138 g).  According to the range specifications above, this means that an apple’s caloric density is very low so you can virtually eat as many as you want.
• A plain enriched bagel has about 182 calories and weighs approximately 71 grams.  The CD of the bagel is 2.56 (182 cal/71 g).  This has a moderate to high caloric density so you should definitely watch your portion size and try not to eat several bagels per day.
• One ounce of almonds (24 almonds) is approximately 163 calories and weighs about 28.35 grams.  The CD for this handful of almonds is 5.6 (163 cal/28.35 g)!! This is very high, so you want to eat sparingly.
• A three-ounce piece of lean, fat-trimmed, top sirloin steak that has been broiled contains approximately 163 calories and weighs 85 grams.  This serving has a CD of 1.91 (163 cal/85 g), which is in the moderate to high range so you should watch your portion size.
• One tablespoon of olive oil has approximately 119 calories and 13.5 grams. This small amount of oil has a caloric density of 8.8 (119 cal/13.5 g).  This is really high so it’s in your best interest to use oil sparingly.

Figuring out the caloric density of what you eat is pretty easy isn’t it?

What to Eat?

Again, if you’re looking to lose weight or simply want to eat better, you can reduce the CD in your overall diet by understanding a couple of principles. If most of what you consume on a daily basis is fruits and vegetables, then you are doing well and can generally eat as much of these two food groups as you want.  One note of caution though: Try to refrain from eating too much dried fruit because the water content is extracted and what would normally be a low caloric dense food suddenly when dried becomes a high calorie dense food with concentrated sugar.  Your best bet is to eat foods high in water content and fiber (i.e., fruits, vegetables, soups, and cooked grains) because they dilute calories and naturally reduce the CD. They also generally happen to be very high in nutrient density as well.

Cooked whole grains, beans, and potatoes in their skin along with lean fish and poultry, are largely in the moderate caloric density range.  If I’m the one who has to make the choice and I’m trying to reduce my CD, I would select the plant-based foods over the seafood and poultry in part because I am vegan, but also the plant-based foods have fiber, provide more bulk in the stomach, and contain more micronutrients.  Interesting to note, if you take cooked grains and make them into bread with whole or refined grain flour, the CD increases significantly (up to seven times)!

Even though I encourage my patients to eat whole, sprouted grain breads because they’re more nutritious and promote better health that refined flour breads, the truth is that one slice of bread whether from refined wheat flour or whole or sprouted wheat, has essentially the same CD. For example, the CD for a slice of the sprouted whole grain bread I personally love to eat is 2.64.  The CD of a slice of pure white sandwich bread that I see many shoppers buying in my local grocery story is 2.5!  That’s not that big of a difference. Why?  It’s because breads, no matter what type, are a moderately high calorically dense food. 

Generally (but not always) when the fiber content of a bread increases the CD goes down.  Still, given how similar the caloric density is for both types, this is one reason why it’s often recommended that breads are eliminated or eaten sparingly when following a weight loss regimen.  If (and this is a big IF!) you must make the choice between eating  whole or sprouted-grain breads and refined white bread, the whole or sprouted grain bread is obviously the better choice. With increased fiber and nutrient content, you will likely eat less of it because the fiber provides the feeling of fullness and reduces hunger.

So, as you see, understanding what a “CD” is and how important it is to maintaining a healthy diet, will definitely set you on the path to making better food choices. That, of course, is a good thing.  And for some it may even be a life saver!
 

Energetic Nutrition Suggests: Along with eating healthy, give your body the nutrients it needs with high quality supplements like these:

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	Omega-3 fats like the ones found in ArcticPure Omega-3 support the healthy functions of the brain, joints, and circulatory system. Omega-3 fatty acids also help support a healthy cardiovascular system by thinning the blood, dilating blood vessels, and supporting healthy blood pressure. It also has components that inhibit inflammatory mediators.
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See all of our natural and healthful supplements on our website at:

About Kirk Hamilton

As a certified physician’s assistant specializing in nutrition, prevention and integrative medicine, Kirk Hamilton maintains that if there’s one cure all for chronic disease it’s what you eat. With his emphasis on consuming more unprocessed, micronutrient dense plant-food along with simple cross-training and mind/body principles, Kirk has been instrumental in guiding his patients and clients toward the path of optimal health since 1983.  He has also been a valued educator to health professionals.  As the founder of Clinical Pearls Publications, Kirk provided summaries of nutritional research to practicing physicians and researchers around the globe until he sold the company to Tishcon Corp. in 2004. Since 2009 Kirk has hosted his own radio program/podcast titled Staying Healthy Today.  He has interviewed hundreds of the top experts in the medical field including Joel Fuhrman, Dr. David Jenkins and Dr. Neal Barnard. Drawing on his 28 year career, in August 2011 Kirk published the book titled “Staying Healthy in the Fast Lane – 9 Simple Steps to Optimal Health.”  His book serves as a guide for individuals, professionals and policy makers on how to create a new health paradigm that is focused on staying well and prevention instead of treatment. 

About Kirk's Book

Staying Healthy in the Fast Lane simplifies the causes and effects of modern chronic diseases by outlining the five dietary changes over the last century that have led to excess calorie consumption, and along with reduced physical activity, have resulted in the epidemics of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions.

But there is good news! By applying the 9 Simple Steps to Optimal Health TRIAD Wellness Program you can prevent, delay or reverse the course of chronic disease and create real Healthcare Reform.

Within these pages are simple rules for efficient and effective diet, exercise and mind-body practices that make this program easy for even the busiest person.
 

Follow Kirk:

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Join us for this FREE Webinar series and take charge of your health
~Ask your Questions Live~

Energetic Nutrition is pleased to sponsor Webinars and eLectures by Kirk Hamilton PA-C. Kirk is the host of Staying Healthy Today Radio and a practicing physicians assistant in nutrition and integrative medicine for more than 25 years. He is the author of the book “Staying Healthy in the Fast Lane: How To Be and Stay Well In The Busy, Modern World" available in early 2010.

Kirk is the originator of the TRIAD Wellness Program highlighting his “9 Simple Steps To Optimal Health” with diet, exercise and mind-body practices. He has interviewed more than 1,000 expert researchers and physicians from around the world since 1995 and has been educating health professionals with newsletters, interviews and nutrition research databases since 1989. His website is www.Prescription2000.com.

Join us for one or more of these important and informative webinars sponsored by Energetic Nutrition. All webinars include a talk with slideshow, followed by a Question and Answer session, and are approximately 1 hour long. 

Staying Healthy In the Fast Lane – Part I
How To Be Well In the Busy, Modern World
(Overview)

Kirk Hamilton, PA-C teaches busy people how to be well in our rapidly changing, modern world. Good health is very simple. It is not a mystery, and is achievable by almost everyone. By using the TRIAD Wellness Program “9 Simple Steps To Optimal Health," chronic diseases can be prevented, delayed, stopped or reversed by efficient and effective diet, exercise and mind/body practices.  
Read more…

Staying Healthy In the Fast Lane – Part IIHow To Be Well In the Busy, Modern World
(The Practical "How To") 

Kirk Hamilton, PA-C provides educational handouts he uses daily with patients to make the “9 Simple Steps To Optimal Health” real and practical. This is a “how to” hour of practical habits that lead to wellness. 
Read more…

The Disease That Doesn’t Have to HappenReversing the Diabetes Epidemic

 Kirk Hamilton, PA-C discusses adult onset diabetes, a silent killer leading to heart disease, hypertension, vision loss, and more. An aggressive diet and exercise program, the “carbohydrate myth,” the concept of ‘intramyocellular” lipid accumulation (fat in the cell), and healthy mitochondria are discussed. 
Read more…

What Can Gorillas Teach Us About Weight Loss?
Reversing the Obesity Epidemic with the Gorilla Diet and Weight Loss Program

Kirk Hamilton, PA-C speaks frankly about the U.S. obesity crisis. This talk will emphasize the concepts of low calorically dense and high nutrient dense diets in the context of changing basic individual metabolic energy expenditure through diet and exercise. A review of why healthy aging populations stay lean, and their simple, time-tested secrets are revealed. 
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Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease
Putting the World's #1 Killer To Rest

Kirk Hamilton, PA-C shares how heart disease can be prevented and reversed by the application of strict diet, exercise and stress management practices. Credible and proven physician directed programs will be discussed along with important and simple cardiovascular screening tests that can be done at any physician’s office to show progress and disease risk.  
Read more…

Healthy Aging
Living Long and Living Well in the 21st Century

Kirk Hamilton, PA-C reveals what healthy centenarians from around the world have to tell us about living long and living well in the 21st century. How do these successful aging populations from around the world live functionally into their 90s and 100’s? What are the common diet, exercise, lifestyle, social and spiritual threads that connect these different populations from around the world and prevent and delay the chronic diseases plaguing modern societies?
Read more…  

More about Kirk Hamilton, PA-C:

 Kirk Hamilton, PA-C (Physicians Assistant Certified) graduated from the University of California, Davis Physicians Assistant Program through their Department of Family Practice in 1983.

Since 1986 he has been a practicing Physicians Assistant at Health Associates Medical Group in Sacramento, California, a nutrient oriented general practice. Kirk has worked in a variety of practice specialties including: Family Practice, Nutrition, Prevention, Cardiology, Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement, Allergy, Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine.

He speaks on a wide variety of health topics with a focus on disease prevention and treatment. Mr. Hamilton specializes not only in disease prevention but treatment with tailored nutritional therapy. This includes the biochemical assessment and therapeutic use of nutraceuticals including vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and compounds innate to normal human biochemistry as less invasive approaches to disease treatment and prevention.