Discussion Board

Hello,

I just saw Dr. McDougall speak at Berkeley Earth Day and I am impresssed with the material and consequently bought the book as well.

In the book, and in a previous newsletter, he mentions that starchy foods, like beans have 1 calorie per gram, instead of the normal 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates. I guess this is because the fiber passes through the system without contributing calories.

I have a hard time understanding that. Does that mean, if my MBR is 2000 cals, that if I were to eat (theoretically of course), 8000 calories of all beans, that I would not gain extra weight. Would I absorb 2000 calories and the other 6000 calories would pass through?

Trying to better understand how much I should be eating on a daily basis. And if this is true, what's the best way to look at a food label and determine the net calories?

Thanks!

If I recall correctly, you can subtract the fiber grams from the total carbohydrate grams...

People are confused because they are familiar with these figures:

fat = 9 calories/gram
protein = 4 calories/gram
carbohydrate (white sugar) = 4 calories/gram

I am using calculations derived from a nutrition composition handbook (calories/gram of a food):

meat = 4 calories/gram
cheese = 4 calories/gram
starch (rice, or potatoes, etc.) = 1 calorie/ gram.

This should be clear now - if not then ask because it is important.

John McDougall, MD

That explains why I am able to drop weight so fast when I eat potatoes as the center of my daily food intake.

Thanks for the reminder.

Appreciate the response Dr. McDougall, but sorry, I am not able to understand it clearly.

on both top and bottom, the metrics seem to be the same, calories / gram.

are you saying that it is misleading to treat calorie contribution as traditionally taught, in terms of fat, protein, or carbs, but instead look at it by types of food? if this is the case, then is the nutrition composition handbook available somewhere online or as a book for purchase? I'd be interested in the calorie / gram, contribution of other foods.

Perhaps this will help...

These numbers...

Fat = 9 calories/gram
protein = 4 calories/gram
carbohydrate = 4 calories/gram

.... refer to the calorie density of the isolated nutrient (fat, protein, or carb)

These numbers...

meat = 4 calories/gram
cheese = 4 calories/gram
rice, or potatoes, etc. = 1 calorie/ gram

... refer to the calorie density of the "food" and not just the individual nutrient but the whole food

A gram of a pure carb molecule is 4 cal/gram. However, a gram of rice, which is made up of carb, protein, fat, water, fiber, etc is about 1 calorie per gram as the water dilutes out the calorie density of the food.

Unrefined, unprocessed, intact whole grains, starchy veggies average around 1 cal per gram (500 cal per pound) as a whole food with the water, fat, protein, etc in it.

Bread, crackers, dry cereals, tortillas averages about 2.0-3.0 as a whole food

Cheese and meat are about 4 cal/gram of cheese and meat as a food as they are not pure protein

In Health
Jeff

I found Jeff Novick's Calorie Density dvd, invaluable and of course his Oil to Nuts and Nuts to Health dvds. I couldn't wrap my head around how we get enough fat/oil in low calorie dense foods and how easy it is to overeat on the higher end calorie dense foods. And of course the key is the satiety in the starch.

Aloha, patty

Thank you for the informative answer Jeff. I think that makes sense to me. So we are looking at the calories per gram of the final food product, in terms of satiety and density.

A cup of dry steelcut oatmeal (40g) is 150 calories. So, the 150 calories is still valid, but in terms of satiety, the 150 calories (after cooking with water) goes much farther than say, 150 calories of white bread. Both are predominantly carbohydrates, but the bread has a lot less fiber and water. Giving the oatmeal a lower calorie / gram.

I guess this is the power of the starch.

You are making this far too complicated and putting in other unattached issues, such as satisfaction, etc.

This is simple the number of calories in a specific weight of food (calories/gram). No more and no less.

Just look up any food and divide the number of calories by the weight of that particular food.

John McDougall, MD

you're right, i was over complicating it. i got on the wrong track of thinking and confused myself.

sorry bout that!

I just ran across this link from TominTN: http://recumbutt.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/caloriedensity/.

To be fair, this way of eating (McDougall, Esselstyn and so on) doesn't encourage or require calorie counting. It's a good idea to get your bearings with the way of eating and then if you feel you need to worry about calories, do so then.

I wish you all the best--keep on going!

Keep it simple.

The confusion was just from comparing the calorie density of a single nutrient (carb, protein, fat) to the calorie density of a whole food (starchy vegetables, whole grain, bean etc).

Satiety, while related to calorie density, is a separate issue.

In Health
Jeff