What are Empty Calories?

With BBQ's, vacations and beach trips around every corner of your summer, you may have read the term "empty calories," or heard it used by nutritionists or even talk show hosts on TV. But what exactly are empty calories? Why are they so bad for you, and how can you avoid them?

Empty Calories = High Calories but Low Nutrition

These empty calories can also be known as "junk food," because they lack health-promoting nutrients.

Examples of foods containing mostly Empty Calories:

• French fries, fried chicken, chips and all other deep-fried foods
  
  A large order of fries from a fast food chain can contain up to 570 calories with 30 g of total fat and 8 g of trans fat!
• Candy, soda and other sweetened packaged foods
  
  A can of soda contains about 130 calories as well as additives and colorings.
  
• Beer, wine and all other alcoholic beverages
  
  A can of beer contains about 150 calories from carbohydrates and not much of anything else. In addition, calories from alcohol tend to be stored as fat in the abdomen = "beer belly"

• Refined grains such as crackers, cookies, white rice and white bread
  
  Refined grains do provide some B vitamins, but that's it.

How to Avoid Empty Calories?

· Avoid deep-friend foods. Instead of frying, try baking or broiling foods.

· Avoid the high calorie/sugar drinks. Instead try Crystal Light flavored water, or diet juices/teas.

· Try whole grains instead of refined grains (white bread).

· Snack on fruits or vegetables instead of the bag of potato chips