What is an Empty Calorie???

Question

If it were truly empty, why would it be a calorie??? It is a contradiction of terms, is it not?

I have heard all those definitions before. My point is that this particular term is a contradiction in terms. The opposite is said to be a nutritionally dense food,.which by deduction would indicate that a nutritionally deficient food is what they are actually trying to say. The caloric value of any food is the amout of heat produced by burning it. That heat is measured via calories, therefore a processed food would be calorie rich per total amount consumed, quite contary to an empty calorie. While it is true that sugar, processed sugar and if one is frank about it, ALL sugars contain about the same amount of calories but the processed sugar is free of additional nutrients. Theer is absolutely no difference how the body treats processed sugar or the sugar contained in fruits or other sugar rich foodstuffs.
In fact, it takes more calories to digest and extract sugar from nutrient rich foods than processed sugars. That is why the burst of energy. It goes on but no room to expand.

Answer 1

It is an item that when consumed, the act of consuming burns as much as the item provides....like eating plain celery.
You burn more calories eating the celery than the celery provides.

Answer 2

Sugar is an example. Sugar has no positive value after a short energy high. It triggers inflammation and a cortisol (The Death Hormone) response. That is a useless, or "empty" calorie, that will also contribute to body fat.

Better energy sources are fruits and veggies, which contain very full but healthy, useful calories.

Answer 3

Empty calories are calories consumed from foods that have little or no nutritional value. Simple sugars and alcohol are good examples. Empty calories contribute towards your daily caloric intake without contributing to your well being.

To be avoided if you're serious about eating healthily.

Answer 4

It's a calorie which has no other nutritional value whatsoever. For example, a single banana has about 95 calories, but it has other nutrients, thus it's doesn't have empty calories. On the other hand, sodas, beer and other drinks are considered to have 'empty calories' because they have no nutritional benefits.

Answer 5

The term refers to type of food that has a very low nutrient level compared to its caloric level.
Junk foods would be classified as this as they have a very high calorie count but little in the way of nutrition.

Answer 6

An "empty" calorie is referred to food with little or no nutritional value. An example is white bread...it HAS calories, however the calories have little nutritional value. vitamins, fiber, etc... all carbs and sugar, starch etc..so you're still taking the calories in with no benefit to your body, other than, of course, taste! Hope this help!.

Answer 7

An empty calorie has none of the essential ingredients that our bodies require. It is like taking a dollar out of your pocket and tearing it up, then throwing it away. You've spent (consumed) the dollar, but have nothing to show for it (by throwing it away, you've wasted the inherent value of the dollar). Same for an empty calorie; you consumed it, but having nothing to show for the consumption.

Answer 8

An empty calorie is one that provides no other nutrition other than calories. Such as a spoon of sugar gives you calories but no protein, vitamins or minerals.

Answer 9

A calorie is a unit of measurement for energy, and not a container, so it can't be literally "empty". What empty there is referring to though, is it is not accompanied by proper nutrients. It just gets you fat, and does not contribute to your immune system and whatnot. So by empty, it means something like "no purpose".

Answer 10

An empty calorie is a calorie consumed that offers no nutritive value, such as alcohol or soda.