Empty Calorie Foods

Many modern foods and drinks contain empty calories. These are calories that come from foods with almost no nutritional value. Learning and understanding how to recognize empty calorie in foods can help a person to develop healthier eating habits.

What are empty calories?

The term empty calories apply to foods and beverages primarily or solely composed of sugar, fats, oils, or alcohol. These calories supply food energy but almost zero nutrition such as vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre, or essential fatty acids. The added fats and sugars make these empty calorie foods taste good, which can cause people to crave them¹.

Solid fats are fats that are solid at room temperature, like butter, beef fat, and shortening. Some solid fats are also found naturally in foods. They can also be added when foods are processed by food companies or when they are prepared. Carbohydrate-based desserts are the prime source of empty calories.

Empty calories come from added sugars and solid fats, as well as some processed oils.

Where can they be found?

Foods and beverages containing empty calories:

carbohydrate-based desserts, such as cakes, cookies, granola bars, and more
sugary drinks, soda, energy drinks, and fruit juice
candies and chocolate bars
some meats, including bacon, sausages, and hotdogs
some full-fat foods, such as butter, shortening, and ice cream
processed oils, such as soybean and canola oil
condiments, such as ketchup, mayonnaise and more
fast food and other snacks, including burgers, wraps, pizza, French fries and more
fatty cheese and ice cream, and other full-fat dairy products as they contain a good amount of solid fat
alcohol like beer, wine, hard spirits and another alcoholic beverages.

How do they impact our health?

Consuming a lot of foods and drinks with empty calories can lead to weight gain and nutritional deficiencies. For example, a person consuming lots of empty calories may not get enough:

vitamins
minerals
protein
essential fatty acids or fibre

Below table, by the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicates the levels of empty calorie consumption as an upper limit for individuals who take 30 minutes or less of moderate exercise daily.

According to a research conducted by the USDA², it was found that the average intake of empty calories for men aged 20 and above was 923 calories per day.

This shows that men, on average, consume two to three times their recommended intake of the solid fats and added sugars category. For women aged 20 and above, the average intake of empty calories was 624 calories per day. So, women, on average, consume almost two to four times their recommended intake of that category.

How to Make Healthy Choices?

Foods to eat instead for a healthier diet mostly come directly from the soil, natural food, or are otherwise not or the least processed.

It is important to always read the packaging before buying or consuming any food products.

fresh fruits: apples, oranges, berries, bananas, melons
vegetables, fresh or frozen: carrots, leafy greens, broccoli, beets
whole grains: whole wheat bread, brown rice, whole grain pastas, lean protein: eggs, beans, fish, nuts, poultry, and other lean meats
legumes: beans and lentils
dairy: low-fat milk, cheeses, and yogurt

Some Useful Tips

Replacing snacks and foods containing empty calories with foods that contain enough protein, whole grain carbohydrates, and fibre. Also, by combining proteins with carbohydrates when snacking can help a person feel fuller for longer.

Choose fruits instead of snacks. Although fruits contain vitamins and minerals and are therefore not empty calories, people should be aware of how much sugar they consume in the form of fruit juice. For example, one full glass of an orange juice contains 7.5 teaspoons of sugar and 160 calories. It is better to eat fresh fruits instead of readymade juices.

Replace Empty Calories with Healthy Foods

It is vital to understand the nutritional value of the foods we consume daily. People can become more aware of empty calories by checking the nutritional analysis on the labels of the food products before choosing to consume them, for sugar and fat content, as well as making more healthful choices when possible.

Empty calories can quickly add up and take a person over their daily calorie recommendations. Excessive consumption of solid fat and added sugars can lead to weight gain and certain health complications.

Replacing or reducing snacking and avoiding sweetened drinks may also be helpful. Focusing on fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole foods while eliminating packaged and processed foods can help a person reduce their consumption of empty calories³.