THERE are many nutrients required for optimal health including carbohydrates, fibre, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Empty calorie foods are foods which mainly provide the energy content – usually carbohydrate or fat – but often lack fibre, essential fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Empty calorie foods usually fall under the high fat, sugar and salt banner, or HFSS.
So which foods and drinks are empty calories? Things like cakes, cookies, biscuits, doughnuts, carbonated drinks, milk chocolate, candies, sweets, fast food and alcohol are probably the best-known. Non-empty calorie foods include carbohydrates (bread, rice, pasta, noodles, couscous, potatoes, oats), fats and proteins (meat, dairy, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, pulses, soya, mycoprotein), vitamins and minerals (fruit, veg, starches, dairy, meat).
Take an avocado as an example. One avocado contains similar calories as a large cookie. But the avocado contains lots of essential nutrients like Omega 9, vitamin B9, as well as minerals like potassium, magnesium and fibre and phytonutrients that can protect against inflammatory diseases.
The cookie does not provide these essential nutrients and chemicals.
You should always go for nutrient-dense foods as part of a healthy balanced diet and keep empty calorie foods to a minimum.
Lee McCusker (BA; MSc; MSc; MSc; ANutr; SENr) is a registered nutritionist from Belfast and can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Email: attentivenutrition@gmail.com
