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Bite-Oriented Energy Densities
You may ask, “Does it matter what type of food I’m eating
in those bites?” The answer is absolutely "yes".
USDA Data Uses Various Serving Sizes
We looked into this question
and found first that it was hard to tell what foods were the best
because they use various serving sizes in the conventional literature.
For example, they would have one serving of Apple is an entire apple whereas
a service of bread is a single slice of bread, and a serving of potato
chips is 1/3 of a bag (as if someone stops eating after only 1/3 of a bag).
Thus, it is very hard to compare foods one to another since the
serving sizes range across the map.
Data normalized using the bite as the standard serving size
We reanalyzed the data to normalize the serving size to one bite to
produce this chart, with overall calories along one axis and fat
calories along the other axis. We used classifications that you will actually find in your life
as well, instead of "Protein", "fat", etc, which you can't really
find in practice.
Let’s point out some interesting points.
- Fruit and Vegetables
First of all, notice that Fruit and Raw Vegetables are in the 0-20 or
0-10 calorie range. These are the lowest calories per bite, especially if you
are eating these foods without fatty salad dresssings and sugary toppings.
These also provide less than 30% fat calories.
EAT LOTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES!
- Bread and Cereal
Bread and Cereal, 12-25 calories per bite, and less than 30% fat calories.
It is important to note that these bites DO NOT include butter, margarine, or
other fats or trans-fatty acids, and do not include jams, jellies and other
sugary toppings that significantly change the calorie content of these bites.
DON'T ADD TOPPINGS TO YOUR BREADS AND CEREALS!
- Prepared Meals
Prepared meals, such as pastas, frozen dinners, etc.
are usually a combination of many foods, and tend to be 5-35 calories per
bite.
HEALTH-ORIENTED PREPARED MEALS ARE NOT A BAD CHOICE.
- Meat and Dairy
Animal products, identified by "Meat and Dairy" in the food pyramid
both have about
the same at 15-35 calories per bite. So, a bite of cheese is about the same
calories as a piece of meat. These are high in cholesterol that can
add to your risk of heart disease.
- Fast Food
Fast food, although high in calories, is interesting that all fast
food has about the same number of calories per bite. So it doesn't much matter
if you choose between the hamburger, chicken burger, taco, or french fries
from a calorie standpoint.
REDUCE YOUR PORTIONS OF FAST FOOD.
- Nuts and Seeds
The nuts and seeds category is in a completely different area, which is very high in
fat calories, as well as overall calories. Avocados are also in this category because they
exhibit the same distribution. However, the foods in this area are not nearly as
harmful for your health as the Animal Products category, since the type of fat is far different.
Some experts claim that the nuts and seeds are actually beneficial despite the high-fat rating.
Not all Bites are Created Equal
The observation that all bites are not created equal is clearly shown by this
chart. For example, a whole apple is perhaps 10 bites at 5 calories per bite,
or 50 calories. One bite of a Whopper Hamburger is worth about 50 calories,
a different of a factor of ten on a bite basis.
Even though bites are much different in calories, people are
creatures of habit and will average out to some number on
this chart. Then the number of bites that a person eats could be
used to determine approximately the number of calories in each meal.
SlimSmart does not bother calculating calories as resolving your bites
into calories is only a waste of time, the number of bites can be used
directly.
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