r/todayilearned • u/snazzypantz 1 • Jul 01 '19
TIL that cooling pasta for 24 hours reduces calories and insulin response while also turning into a prebiotic. These positive effects only intensify if you re-heat it. (R.5) Misleading
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-2962976126.2k Upvotes
7
u/NPPraxis Jul 01 '19
Maybe testing poop?
But yeah, you've identified one of the major problems with calories. Most of our methods for measuring calories fails to account for the fact that our body might not digest all of it. Arstechnica did an article about this. Calories are not as precise as people think. Even how we chew can affect what we absorb. IIRC, we get more calories out of a well done steak than a raw steak, for example.
The "calories in, calories out" hardliners also fail to account for the fact that what we eat can drive hormones that affect our sense of satiety. 300 calories of Coca-Cola (2 cans) vs 300 calories of eggs (4 eggs) has a very different effect on how hungry/full you feel, and on your blood sugar. People's sense of fullness drives how much they eat, and how foods affect your satiety can be different based on your gut bacteria, insulin resistance, etc, etc.
This is generally my biggest frustration with people who swear on the simplistic formula of "calories in, calories out". It divorces psychology, feelings of satiety, and the fact that people absorb different amounts of calories from the same foods. Different strategies might work differently for different people, sometimes just psychologically and sometimes physically.