Count Chemicals Not Calories - Why Calories Aren't An Accurate Measure of Health

On my long pursuit of health, I went through a phase that most of you will recognise. I thought that body size was the most important measure of how healthy I was. In order to achieve as small a body as possible, I went down the calorie counting route. My Fitness Pal was my best friend, I'd logged in for over 1000 days before I realised that calories aren't an accurate measure of health. I had progressively lowered my calories until I was on 1200 calories and if I went above that, I'd gain weight. My metabolism was through the floor and I had multiple health issues - you can read more details about my journey here.

Firstly, I want to be clear that I do think that having a basic understanding of calories and macros (protein, carbs and fat) can help us to have a balanced diet. It's also a great short-term tool for people wanting to bulk up with muscle and cut fat, e.g. bodybuilders. Tracking your food for a few weeks without restriction is a great way to understand the macronutrients we consume most frequently and you can use that information to inform your decision making.

However, as if you are trying to improve your health , calorie counting could be a short-term solution that creates long-term problems.

A calorie will tell you about the energy density of a food. What it won't tell you is:

1. The nutrient density. Whole foods like fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, meat and legumes contain essential nutrients that our body can put to work. They're high in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, which our bodies need to function.

2. How your body will process to the food. The calorie concept assumes that our bodies all process food exactly the same. Guess what...they don't. Some people are better metabolisers than others (PMID: 22760558). Our gut microbiomes are also completely individual and this impacts how we process food. For example, I might eat almonds regularly and have gut microbes that enjoy almonds. This means my body could process 100g of almonds better than your body, so I consume more calories from those almonds than you do.

3. How many calories can actually get absorbed. Ultra-processed foods are basically chemical mush. They're chemically soft and our bodies can process them at an abnormal rate. Whole foods are made up of more complex structures and usually contain fibre. This means that our bodies will absorb the majority of the calories in ultra-processed foods, but they might not get 100% of the calories from a whole food. So if you're trying to choose between 100 calories of apple and 100 calories of crisps, and you're basing that decision solely on the calories, you're missing key information.

4. How long the food will satisfy your hunger for. Have you ever eaten a Big Mac and felt stuffed, only to be then hungry an hour later? Because ultra-processed foods contain such minimal nutrients, they don't satisfy our bodies hunger for long. As mentioned above, our bodies process UPF at a rapid pace. They break these foods down and then have nothing to work with to fuel basic biological functions. They're left thinking 'wtf?' - so we then get hunger signal to make us eat more in the hope that we'll put more nutrients in for our bodies to use, and so on. If you're trying to lose weight, being constantly hungry isn't ideal.

5. What's in the food that could be harming you. Ultra-processed foods are linked to over 32 adverse health outcomes (BMJ 2024;384:e077310). We haven't even scratched the surface on what the long-term effects on our bodies are from consuming UPF. We haven't looked at how the different chemicals in UPF react with each other to impact our health. If you're simply judging a food based off it's calorie content, you're not considering the long-term health impacts that the food could be having on your body.

In order to improve your health don't base your food decisions on calories alone. Here are some ways to make better food choices for your health:

1. Take the time to read ingredient labels and avoid foods with long lists of additives, preservatives, flavourings and other artificial substances. Choose products with simple, recognisable ingredients.

2. Whenever possible, choose whole, unprocessed foods. Fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, legumes and pulses are a great basis for a varied diet.

3. Focus on gut health - eat fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut and kefir, eat fibre-rich foods, reduce stress and eat in a relaxed state.

4. Cooking at home allows you to control what's going into your meals, reducing your additives intake. Check out my gut-friendly recipe guides below for healthy, additive free meal ideas.

5. Avoid foods packaged in materials that can leach harmful substances into the food like BPA. Choose fresh, bulk or frozen foods that have minimal packaging. You could also buy the products then move them into a glass container when you get home.
   

If you'd like to learn more about how calories don't count, I really recommend reading Spoon Fed by Dr Tim Spector, he provides a really comprehensive breakdown.

Has any of this resonated with you? Let me know in the comments and share with a friend.

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