Calorie vuote, cosa sono e perché sono importanti?

Che cosa sono le calorie vuote? Sono sicura che in molte occasioni ne avrete sentito parlare, senza però riuscire a darne una definizione specifica. Questo problema dipende dal fatto che a livello scientifico il concetto di “caloria vuota” non ha alcun significato. È un’espressione nata per indicare il consumo di cibo (soprattutto junk food) in eccesso.

Molte volte si mangia tanto per mangiare, non perché si abbia realmente fame o perché sia l’ora dei pasti. Vi è mai capitato di fare degli spuntini dettati solo dalla gola, magari a base di dolci confezionati o di hamburger? Queste sono le cosiddette calorie vuote, ovvero calorie in eccesso e non abbinate a sostanze nutritive, quali vitamine o sali minerali. Ma consumare molti zuccheri e molti grassi, impoverisce la qualità della dieta? In linea di massima, mi sento di dire di sì e la dimostrazione è il dilagare dell’obesità.

L’obesità, come abbiamo detto in molte occasioni, è una malattia con una serie di complicazioni per l’organismo davvero gravi. Ma per una persona grassa a causa di disfunzioni, ce ne sono 20 grasse a causa della dieta. È difficile che seguendo un’alimentazione corretta e ben bilanciata e facendo sport, si possano accumulare 20/30 chili in più. Mentre costellare la propria dieta di calorie vuote è il modo più rapido per prendere chili e soprattutto avvelenare il corpo.

Cosa sono le calorie?

Sono molti i nutrizionisti a sostenere che le calorie non possano essere l’unica unità di misura delle diete, perché l’alimentazione è parte integrante di uno stile di vita fatto di numerose varianti (dai pasti a orari regolari alle ore di sonno, dal consumo di alcol a quello di tabacco, dal movimento quotidiano allo sport agonistico). Ciò vuol dire che perché una dieta sia ben bilanciata o faccia dimagrire, non può essere calcolata solo in termine calorico. Bisogna però ammettere che questo metodo è probabilmente un modo per semplificare alcuni aspetti nutrizionali e rendere le persone più consapevoli di quello che stanno consumando.

Le calorie (Cal o Kcal) equivalgono all’energia prodotta dal nostro corpo metabolizzando il cibo ingerito. Un grammo di glucosio (alimento di facile assimilazione) sviluppa 3,92 calorie, un grammo di proteine circa 4 calorie e sono invece 9 per un grammo di lipidi. Partendo da questi dati, vengono poi calcolati i valori energetici degli alimenti. Ma c’è di più. È vero anche che l’apporto calorico varia in base alla cottura dei cibi e che il valore calorico degli alimenti aumenta se il prodotto viene cotto a causa dell’acqua che i cibi assorbono durante la cottura stessa. È quindi molto difficile essere davvero precisi nelle misurazioni.

Le calorie sono realmente vuote?

Le calorie vuote sono associate al consumo di zucchero (di qualsiasi natura) che essendo una sostanza “pura” non è associata ad altri nutrienti. Come potete intuire ora, il concetto di calorie vuote ha un significato riduttivo perché è quasi impossibile consumare un prodotto che contenga solo zuccheri. Difficilmente le persone, come spuntino, prendono a cucchiaiate la zuccheriera, è più facile però bere un succo di arancia, ricco anche di vitamina C. Tanto per fare un esempio. Di solito, si tendono a consumare prodotti o molto dolci o molto grassi, che al loro interno contengono una serie di nutrienti (oltre a lipidi e glucosio). Ne consegue che queste calorie non sono realmente vuote, anche se sicuramente sono molto sbilanciate e di troppo.

Questo termine, entrato nel linguaggio comune, è stato poi esteso un po’ a tutti quei prodotti mangiati in eccesso e possiamo sostituirlo con “calorie inutili”. In questo caso, abbiamo davanti un valore davvero importante che dovrebbe fare da sentinella per favorire il consumo di una dieta realmente equilibrata, dando alle persone un segnale di stop all’ennesimo bicchiere di vino o all’aggiunta di giro d’olio di troppo nel piatto. Non c’è quindi bisogno di fare il pieno di junk food per mangiare troppo, bastano anche poche e cattive abitudini.

 

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