By: Robyn Flipse, MS, RD   Date: 5/25/11

Are you someone who thinks you are better off choosing a granola bar over a candy bar when looking for a diet-friendly snack in a vending machine? Would you also select the fruit juice over the fruit drink for the same reason? If so, you may be suffering from “calorie confusion”, a condition that leads you to irrationally believe that the nutrients in some foods and beverages magically cancel out the calories, when in fact, all of the calories we consume are counted the same way by your body. 

Calorie confusion spreads whenever someone tries to rank foods and beverages into those with “good calories” and those with “bad calories” based on whether they are “nutritious” or not. This simplified interpretation of the concept of nutrient-density has allowed people to feel it is okay to eat more than they need of certain foods and beverages because they are good for them.  But that is not how energy balance works, and this calorie confusion is contributing to the rise in obesity rates.

The message consumers need to hear is that while nutrients are important to good health, once you’ve consumed all of the nutrients your body needs, eating more won’t make you healthier, but the calories that come with those extra servings can make you fatter.  Achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight is every bit as important to good health as being well nourished, so any source of calories that puts you over your daily allowance can actually have negative health consequences.
Further insight into our calorie confusion can be found in the International Food Information Council Foundation 2011 Food and Health Survey. Once again the survey revealed that the vast majority of Americans do not know how many calories they need each day, or how many they burn, and even if they did know, they don’t want to keep track of them. Shedding light on this blind-spot may hold the key to helping more Americans achieve a healthy body weight.

Knowing your daily calorie allowance gives you the flexibility to include any food or beverage you enjoy in your meals and snacks as long as you control the portion size and frequency. That rule also happens to be true for everything in the food pyramid!

For example, avocados are a fruit containing heart healthy mono-unsaturated fat. Some people mistakenly believe that because they contain fat, avocados are not a good choice for them, yet a serving has only 50 calories, which is one-fifth of the fruit. Avocados also provide nearly 20 essential vitamins and minerals, including potassium, folic acid and Vitamin E, so are a perfect addition to any diet. On the other hand, most people know cheese is an excellent source of calcium, which most Americans need more of, in addition to providing Vitamins A and B2.and high quality protein. But a serving of cheese,  which is a one ounce slice, supplies about 100 calories, so must be counted in your calorie budget, too. 

We can go a long way towards curbing the confusion if we remember, all calories do count, so count them all to make the best food and beverage decisions each and every day.