n = 17, very small sample size
this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
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The study seemed pretty intense, I imagine it's hard to find participants, not to mention funding it.
tl;dr: eat foods with a high fiber content
Referenced article:
Corbin, K.D., Carnero, E.A., Dirks, B. et al. Host-diet-gut microbiome interactions influence human energy balance: a randomized clinical trial. Nat Commun 14, 3161 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38778-x
tl;dr: eat plants
Wish there were more plant heavy fast food options, I've been trying to avoid eating a ton of meat for environmental and health reasons already but when you're short on time and energy it's not always easy.
Nice article but it doesn't really prove that calories are not equal. The article discusses how the calories get absorbed differently, but that doesn't mean the calories have changed or disappeared. Kind of misleading title.
I suppose it depends on whether you're interested in the amount of energy contained in a food or the amount of energy a human being can obtain from the food. We're typically only interested in the latter.
Calories are not interchangeable if you're interested in nutrition (as opposed to burning things).
The best example I can think of is cellulose; it's the main source of calories for ruminants, but totally indigestible by humans.
There are loads of examples, that's a very good one (fibre burns in calorimeters so can throw calorie counts off a lot).
Raw food delivers fewer (usable) calories than cooked food, whether it's vegetables or steak.
Highly processed foods, especially carbohydrates, deliver their calories fast, spiking blood sugar and stimulating insulin production to lay the excess energy down as fat. If you're hibernating for winter, you want the fat. But if you're running a marathon you want slow (protein and fat) and slower (complex carbohydrates) release foods.
Chill your potatoes/rice/pasta for 24 hours and it will have more complex carbohydrates than it did when freshly cooked. Reheat them and they'll have even more. Jury still out on whether this means frozen chips (fries) are a healthy food...
Even the amount you chew affects the number of calories available (analogous to the amount of pre-processing being important).
International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values 2021: a systematic review
long story. tl;dr: I had anxiety after quitting a prescription and killed my digestion with OTC meds. Fiber, enzyme supplements and protein drinks have me gaining weight again. "Cheap processed foods"? who eats this crap every day still? give me veggies raw or canned anyday. cheap
What about trans fats?