When it comes to weight loss, food is often placed in one of two categories; either it’s healthy or unhealthy. But what does it mean to be healthy? People often refer to how much sodium, sugar, or calories the food has; but a better way to categorize food is by it’s calorie and nutrient density.
Calorie dense foods have more calories than they do micronutrients (electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc.). Nutrient dense foods are the opposite; they contain more micronutrients than actual calories. Although it may seem that nutrient dense foods are superior, a healthy diet actually requires a balance of the two.
How to tell the difference
Identifying nutrient dense foods is easy because a majority of whole fruits and vegetables are nutrient dense. Basically, any food that comes straight from the earth is a whole vegetable or fruit. However, there are special exceptions to this rule. Certain whole foods, such as potatoes, still pack a lot of calories compared to spinach and peppers. 1 cup of raw spinach is about 7 calories, but 1 cup of potato is 116. The potato is still packed with nutrients, but it also comes with a lot of calories, making it both nutrient and calorie dense. Below is a simple list of whole foods that fall into both categories. Most other whole foods are high in micronutrients and low in calories
- Potatoes
- Corn
- Carrots
- Nuts and seeds
- Fatty cuts of meat/fish
- Avocados
Identifying calorie dense foods is a bit trickier since there are two main types: whole calorie dense foods and hyperpalatable calorie dense foods.
Whole Calorie Dense Foods
Whole foods that are calories dense are basically foods that people say are good for you despite having a lot of calories per serving. Common examples include:
- Meats and fishes
- Nuts and seeds
- Natural oils
- Starchy vegetables (ex. potatoes)
The reason these are still considered healthy because they not only are high in certain micronutrients, but also have the macronutrients needed for a healthy body. Macronutrients include carbohydrates, fats, and proteins; and having the right amount of each is essential for health.
Hyperpalatable Calorie Dense Foods
On the other hand you have hyperpalatable calorie dense foods. “Hyperpalatable” means food that taste really good – far better than most natural foods. The easiest way to identify a hyperpalatable calorie dense food is by thinking of how many steps it took to produce that food.
The more engineering it took to make that food look, taste, and feel the best will make it more likely to be calorie dense. A great example is potato chips because, although it is made from potatoes, the added ingredients and hyper-palatability of that food forces more calories per gram than a plain potato. 1 cup of potato chips is about 150 calories as oppose to 116 for a plain potato. Not much of a difference, right? However, nobody ever stops eating potato chips after just a handful (about the size of one cup). In fact, people can easily find themselves eating an entire back of potato chips, which may have taken 3 whole potatoes to make. But if you were to sit down and eat 3 plain potatoes, you’d likely be stuffed after just one. This is where the hyper-palatability of potato chips and other engineered foods plays in. These foods taste so good that you’re bodies natural defenses against overeating (fullness, palate fatigue, nausea, etc.) are negated.
Processed food companies spend millions of dollars a year researching every aspect that goes into eating their foods. Not only do they research to get the best tasting chip, but they also research:
- The most appealing size per chip
- The perfect crunchiness
- How much salt is left on your fingers after each chip
- What the bag smells like when you open it
- What color makes you more hungry (research shows red and yellow colors invite people to eat more than usual)
- Other foods that are often paired with it (like how people normally eat chips with a sandwich)
All of these factors get millions in corporate funding in order to make the consumer eat and buy as much as possible. Because of this, that 40 calorie difference between a cup of chips versus potato adds up very quickly once you’ve downed 3 potatoes worth of chips in one sitting.
How they affect your health
Nutrient dense foods and Health
The micronutrients in nutrient dense foods are essential for quality of life. Below is the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for adult micronutrient needs according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025. The function of each nutrient is also listed:
| Micronutrient | RDA | Function |
| Calcium (mg) | 1000 – 1300 | Bone and blood health |
| Iron (mg) | 8 – 18 | Blood oxygenation and hormones |
| Magnesium (mg) | 300 – 420 | Assists with macronutrient metabolism |
| Phosphorus (mg) | 700 – 1300 | Cell membrane structure |
| Potassium (mg) | 2,000 – 3,000 | Nerve and muscle function |
| Sodium (mg) | 1,500 – 2,300 | Nerve and muscle function |
| Zinc (mg) | 8 – 11 | Immune health |
| Vitamin A | 700 – 900 | Vision and organ function |
| Vitamin E | 15 | immune health and antioxidant |
| Vitamin D | 600 | Immune health and micronutrient absorption |
| Vitamin C | 75 – 90 | Brain and collagen health |
| Vitamin B6 | 1.5 | Helps utilize sugar for energy |
| Vitamin B12 | 2.4 | Brain and NS health |
| Vitamin K | 75 – 120 | Blood clotting |
Realistically, nobody would ever track all of these individual micronutrients, but the functions of all these nutrients are essential for good health. Although all of these nutrients can easily be obtained through supplements like multivitamins, research shows that these micronutrients are used better by the body when obtained through natural foods.
So how do you keep these nutrients in check without tracking each one? The best way to do so is have variety in your diet. This means a wide assortment of meats, fishes, fruits, and vegetables throughout the week. This takes much more planning, especially since most people eat the same things at the same times every day. However, the benefits come from the list of functions listed above. An overall healthy body needs a vast source of natural foods in order to keep up with nutritional needs. If absolutely necessary, supplements can be used in place of a diverse diet, but most people would benefit more from whole food sources if possible.
Lastly, notice that proteins, fats, and carbs were not ye mentioned. This is because those are considered macronutrients, and although they also have a recommended daily intake, macronutrients are more abundant in calorie dense foods.
Calorie dense foods and health
Whole Calorie Dense Foods
Just like with micronutrition, having a balanced macronutrient profile is also essential for health. Below is the RDA for carbs, fats, and proteins for most adults:
| Macronutrient | RDA | Function |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 130 | Energy and blood sugar control |
| Fats (g) | 50-60 | Energy and hormone regulation |
| Protein (g) | 46-56* | Tissue repair, hormone regulation, and muscle maintenance |
Keep in mind that all 3 of these RDA’s are setting the bare minimum for the average American to avoid malnutrition, especially for those who do NOT exercise regularly. If you do exercise regularly, a more accurate estimation can be produced from a calorie calculator. In the provided link, be sure to read the article before using their calculator in order to get the best understanding on how to track your calories.
If you don’t want to track your calories and macronutrients, the easiest way to ensure good health is to stick to whole food sources. As will be discussed later, calorie dense foods from engineered, processed foods can negatively affect your health.
Hyperpalatable Calorie Dense Foods
Calorie dense foods from hyper-palatable, processed sources can easily lead to overconsumption and weight gain. As mentioned before, calorie dense foods not only have more calories per gram, but are also much easier to overeat due to tasting so good. Studies have actually shown that those who eat as much processed food as they want eat an average of 500 calories more a day than those who eat as much whole foods as they want. 500 calories a day means 3,500 calories a week, about the same calories in a pound of fat.
Do Hyperpalatable Foods Have a Place in Your Diet
This entire article has demonized hyperpalatable foods quite a bit. However, there are actually times and places where these foods can – and sometimes should – be used.
Social Gatherings
Food is more than just a source of energy. It helps bring people together, creating cultures and traditions that make life worth living. This is why so many activities and gatherings – parties, holidays, movies, picnics – involve food. Even back in the hunter-gathering days thousands of years ago, food was celebrated as a means to bring the community together.
Some people are so health conscious that they don’t allow any processed foods in their diet no matter what they’re doing or where they’re at. You may even know people who are like this and how frustrating it can be to invite them anywhere. Most people might find this mind sense “inspiring” because of the discipline, but most of the time it’s the complete opposite. Those who sacrifice their friends and family for their fitness goals – especially if their goal is just to look good – can sometimes be more unhealthy than someone who doesn’t watch what they eat. The only exception would be those doing it for their job such as professional bodybuilders and athletes.
Health is much more than looking good or being strong. It’s also about having healthy relationships and a meaningful purpose in life. This is probably much more spiritual talk than you’d except from this article, but it’s important to bring up when discussing food choices.
Those Looking to Gain Weight
Although even those trying to gain weight benefit from eating a lot of whole foods, hyperpalatable foods can be used to easily obtain those extra calories each day.
This strategy has it’s limits though. Most people, especially young men, trying to gain weight focus purely on processed foods because of how calorie dense they are. The problem, though, is that processed foods are much harder for people to digest properly compared to whole foods.
For example, let’s take two people trying to get to 3,000 calories a day. One tries to accomplish this with frequent visits to McDonalds, while the other focuses on preparing whole foods. Although the first person can easily down 1,700 calories with less food volume, that McDonalds meal will take so long to digest that they will probably stay full the entire day. The whole-foods person, however, may only eat 1,000 calories before getting full, but they’re more likely to digest that food fully a few hours later and be ready for a second and third 1,000 meal.
As mentioned though, it’s still hard to get all of your calories from whole foods, so using hyperpalatable meals sparingly can ensure your calories stay high enough for weight gain.