Let's talk about a couple of definitions that
are important in this reading. The first is energy density. A food that is energy dense
contains a lot of calories. That's because energy is measured in calories, so a food that
is energy dense is going to be filled with lots of calories. So if you are comparing two different
foods, the more energy-dense food would be the one with the most calories. They often provide fewer
nutrients. They often coincide where you have energy-dense food has very little nutrient
quality, and they often don't sustain you for very long, so you get hungry sooner, and
you're more likely to eat food again sooner than you would have. And in the end, over the whole
day, you're going to end up eating more calories The next definition is nutrient density. These
type of foods are full of lots of nutrients, and it's a food that not only provides all
of these nutrients but it's in the least calories. Our vegetables are famous for being
nutrient-dense because there's so many nutrients in them but very, very few calories. And this is
really important to know because when somebody is on a moderate calorie restriction...maybe
they're trying to maintain weight or lose weight... their cells still need vitamins
and minerals, right? So, we need to be able to find a way to get all of those vitamins and
minerals without overdoing their calories. So, the nutrient-dense foods become very important.
As a matter of fact, in just health in general, we recommend nutrient-dense foods to provide
as many nutrients as we can so you don't overdo your calories, and limit how many of those
nutrients those uh energy-dense foods you consume. So let's put this to practice and take a
look at several different types of milks. So, in our graph here (our table) we have different
columns. This first one is non-fat or skim milk. Then we have one percent milk, and then we have
two percent, and the last column is whole milk. Some people call it regular milk. So, the first
question is which type of milk is the most energy dense. So, again, we're looking for calories
because we're talking about energy density. And remember I said that the most energy
dense is the one with the most calories. So, if we look at these different milks, we find that
whole milk has the most calories. So, we would say that whole milk is the most energy-dense. Then we
ask what type of milk is the most nutrient-dense. And this is where students are surprised. I
think because really the difference in the nutrient quality of all these different milks
is negligible. There's really no difference with the exception of one vitamin down here
with whole milk. But, overall, these nutrients are very high in the same amounts across all the
different types. So, now we have to look at the most nutrients in the least calories. So again
it's the least calories that we're going for and that's almost always the case. So, we would
go to the least calorie one, and we would say that non-fat milk is the most nutrient-dense. So
just in general health, we recommend skim or one percent milk for that reason - because it is more
nutrient-dense. Whole milk is energy dense. While it does have nutrients, it does have a lot more
calories to it, and it's harder to manage weight.