All Calories are Equal

It is simply false that “all calories are created equal.”

Different foods go through different metabolic pathways and have direct effects on fat burning and the hormones and brain centers that regulate appetite (48, 49, 50).

A high protein diet, for example, can increase the metabolic rate by 80 to 100 caloriesper day and significantly reduce appetite (51, 52, 53).

In one study, such a diet made people automatically eat 441 fewer calories per day. They also lost 11 pounds in 12 weeks, just by adding protein to their diet (54).

There are many more examples of different foods having vastly different effects on hunger, hormones and health. Because a calorie is not a calorie.

Bottom Line: Not all calories are created equal, because different foods and macronutrients go through different metabolic pathways. They have varying effects on hunger, hormones and health.