Beware of foods that contain “empty calories”: what they are and why limit them, according to the nutritionist

Have you ever heard of “empty calories”? What is meant by this definition and what are the foods (or drinks) that contain them? “Our” nutritionist explained everything to us

When we talk about “empty calories“, We basically mean the calories contained in some foods which, however, in addition to the energy intake, do not provide the right dose of useful nutrients at the same time.

Basically these are unhealthy foods (or drinks) that tend to make us fat without providing us with vitamins, minerals, fiber, proteins, etc.

We asked the nutritionist Flavio Pettirossi to explain better what it is and why it would be better to avoid foods that contain “empty calories” as much as possible. Here’s what he told us:

By “empty” calories, we mean those calories contained in some foods especially processed, rich in solid fats, simple sugars and alcohol and which therefore have a low nutritional value given by the scarcity of vitamins and mineral salts, as opposed to a high value energy that can also greatly increase our caloric intake and that would lead us to look for other food.

So foods with “empty” calories make us even hungrierbut why does this happen?

This is because often the high level of sugars (contained in high percentage in foods with empty calories) leads us to an increase in blood sugar levels followed by a state of hypoglycemia given by the intervention of insulin, establishing a vicious circle in search of sugars.

But what food and drink are we talking about?

Some examples are represented by sugary drinks or fruit juices, we always try to read the labels and check the presence of sugars. We use low-sugar jams and try to prefer fresh fruit over bars. We also try to get used to the sweet taste by drinking coffee, lightly sweetened tea (better without sugar) and avoid preparing foods with butter and margarine.

Other examples I am:

• chips
• candies
• chewing gum
• snacks
• alcoholic
• in general, foods made with refined flour and sugars

Ma even apparently unsuspected foods come:

Read also: The myth of the biscuit collapses: even rusks, bresaola and processed foods make us sick

We don’t have to completely eliminate these foods from our life. Important, if we consume them, it is to be aware that we are not providing the useful nutrients to our body. It is therefore essential to compensate as much as possible with healthy and natural foods.

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