Empty Calories

     I want to get some information out about Empty Calories, I’m sure everyone knows all food and drinks have some amount of calories in them, some being good and nutritious, and others having no nutritional value for you, those being empty calories. Most candies and sodas are ALL empty calories, and do not provide you with any nutrients.  Although I am not a huge fan of counting calories, if that is something that works for you then that’s great! empty calories and reading labels is something I think more people need to think about and know what they are eating.

     Two good examples of foods with empty calories versus not having any is applesauce and ground beef. Let’s start with applesauce, sweetened applesauce has added sugars in it, which are not good for you and add no nutritional value to the applesauce itself. So buy the unsweetened kind and add honey or agave yourself, or better yet make your own applesauce!  On to ground beef, if you buy regular ground beef it has solid fats it in, that are considered empty calories, all meat have them. That is why the big push is to buy or consume lean meats. Lean meats being 90% or more lean (that means it does not have a lot of fat in it, 90% meat to 10% fat). The same can be said for milk, whole milk as opposed to fat-free milk. Knowing what to look for can help to lower the amount of empty calories, added sugars and solid fats you consume.

Research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill determined that Americans are consuming 83 more calories per day from caloric sweeteners then in 1977, those extra 83 calories a day add up to 2,490 calories PER MONTH!   

I hope this makes you look a little deeper into what you are eating and making some better choices that will help you live healthier. 

Live Healthy,
    Nadia