alt Hacker NewsEverything needs to be weighted on a precise scale, every ingredient and not just the macros. On top of that the reported nutrition values on labels can be wrong by a large margin so for not whole foods, we introduce an error.
This is why calorie counting is ballparking to get us a general idea, and not a precise science.
Replies
Pooge • 01/21/2025
> This is why calorie counting is ballparking to get us a general idea, and not a precise science.
This is true, because of "caloric availability".[1] If you took that into account, you would have a better idea of how many calories your body is absorbing.
I find the way we measure calories very interesting: place the food in a metal box filled with oxygen, immerse the box in water, make the food explode so that it combusts completely, and finally measure how much the water heats up.
Rather crude and fun, but that's it, see Bomb Calorimeter. I guess it makes sense in retrospect, how else would you do it?
They usually just measure standard basic ingredients, then you roughly match them to your recipe and add it up. No wonder food labelling is just a ballpark.