Lose Weight : bet on satiety with a diet based on caloric density I

The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) was presented this week at a conference on S and its effects on eating behaviors, an educational brochure on a diet based on caloric density for better weight control.

Foods with low calorie density, rich in water and fiber and provide relatively few calories, you feel fuller longer and better for the same number of calories.

The caloric density is the amount of energy (calories) per gram of food. The calculation can be done easily with a calculator based on package labels.

The low-density foods provide less energy per gram of food. They can be consumed in greater quantities without adding too many calories. They include fruits and vegetables, foods that have added a lot of water when cooking such as soups and stews and foods containing little fat.

Examples of caloric density:
Cucumber: 0.10
Vegetable soup: 0.52
Legumes: 0.81
Boiled Egg: 1.47
Strawberries and cream: 1.6
Lasagna: 1.9
Crescent: 3.7
Peanuts: 6.0

The BNF advises that food density is low most of the food. These are foods with less than 1.5 calories per gram: they include beans, boiled eggs, vegetable dishes with rice or pasta.

The portions of food with an average density, such as a sandwich of 180 g to 360 calories with a density of 2, lasagna and salmon must be controlled and made more food at lower density, "says Bridget Benelam , researcher at the BNF.

Combining food with very low density with food medium density results in a low density throughout: for example, many vegetables and salads with fish, meat or pizza and even better with soup to start the meal.

The high-density foods such as crackers, cookies, nuts and chocolate should be made in very small quantities and / or less often. But still, the principle still applies: it would be advantageous to prefer a chocolate mousse with a chocolate bar.

Satiety plays an important role in controlling the amount of food consumed. Other factors that influence eating behaviors are portion size, variety of food and beverages available, emotional state and social situation surrounding an opportunity to eat. Being aware of these factors may help to better control them.
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Illustration: The two desserts, a small cup of strawberries and cream, a larger cup of berries with low fat yogurt and cereal oats and honey crisp, contain the same amount of calories. Source: British Nutrition Foundation (BBC).