Calorie density describe the amount of energy that a food contains in relation to the weight of that food. It is possible for two different foods to contain the same amount of energy, yet one food will be much more physicaly heavy than the other. For instance, a small portion of almonds will contain the same amount of energy as a large portion of sliced cucumbers.
Because almonds contain a high amount of calories relative to it’s weights, it will take up little space within the stomach. In contrast, cucumbers contains a low calorie density, meaning they will take up a relatively large amount of space within the stomach. While many individuals attempts to control their weight by controlling the amount of calories that they consume, it is also important to consider how the stomach reacts to the different types of calories.
Foods That Fill You Up but Have Few Calories
The stomach contains stretch receptors that will send signals to the brain when they are physically full. If an individual consumes foods that contains a low calorie density, they will fill their stomach, which will trigger these stretch receptors to tell the brain that they are full. High calorie density foods, like oils or nuts, will not fill the stomach as effective.
Thus, an individual will consume many calories from these types of food yet still feel as if they are hungry after eating. One strategy that an individual can utilize is known as volume eating. Volume eating is a strategy that involves eat foods that have high volumes yet low amounts of energy.
Foods like vegetables such as spinach and cucumbers has low calorie densities due to their high water and fiber content. These foods will contain low amounts of energy per gram, allowing for an individual to eat a large portion of these vegetables without consuming a large amount of energy. In contrast, foods like olive oil and butter contains a large amount of energy yet have a small physical amount.
If an individual consumes too many of these healthy fats, they will consume many calories without increasing the physical volume of the meal that they eat. Volume eating allows individuals to eat a large amount of food yet still feel as if they are not experiencing a sense of deprivation. By swapping high calorie density foods for low calorie density foods, an individual can maintain the same volume of food yet consume less energy from their diet.
For instance, white rice is a high calorie density food. Cauliflower is a low calorie density food. Thus, by replacing white rice with cauliflower, an individual can eat the same volume of food yet consume fewer calories from there meal.
Another concept related to the concept of fullness is satiety. Satiety is a measure of how long an individual feels full after eating. Some foods contains more satiety than others.
For instance, foods like boiled potatoes contain starch that make them high in satiety. Foods high in protein, like fish or chicken also contain high levels of satiety due to the effect that the protein has upon the body and its ability to tell the brain to stop eating. To maintain a feeling of satiety and volume, it is important for an individual to incorporate foods high in both satiety and volume into their diet.
For instance, combining a protein that is high in satiety with a vegetable high in volume will prevent an individual from eating too much food. One way to organize the foods that are consumed within a meal is the plate method. The plate method recommends that vegetables fill half of the plate (low calorie density foods), one quarter of the plate should be lean protein, and the final quarter of the plate should be filled with carbohydrates.
Healthy fats should be included as a garnish to the meal since healthy fats contains high amounts of calories. Additionally, processed foods like dried fruit should be used with care. Dried fruit has had most of its water removed.
As a result, the sugar and the calories is much more concentrated in dried fruit compared to fresh fruit. Thus, dried fruit is a high calorie density food and will not fill the individual as well as fresh fruit will. By focusing on utilizing foods that are high in both volume and satiety, an individual can eat a large amount of food without consuming too much calories.
Foods that are high in volume will fill the stomach and trigger the stretch receptors to let the brain know that the individual is full. High satiety foods will also send signals to the brain to indicate that the individual is full and should not consume more food. Thus, by focusing on the volume of the food, an individual can manage their energy intake by focusing on the physical volume of the food that they eat.
