Some years ago, the science writer Rob Dunn published in Scientific American an article called The Hidden Truth About Calories. The article explained why two people could gain different amounts of weight even while eating the same diet. Visible differences do not begin to scratch the surface. There is a lot more going on underneath. For example, it appears that the intestines of individuals of Russian descent are five feet longer, on average, than those whose ancestors hail from Italy.

Dunn’s article points out that the human body was not designed to eat ultra processed items, much or most of whose work of breakdown and digestion is complete even before we raise them to our mouths. There is no such thing, in nature, as plant-based carbohydrate without its fiber matrix. Vegetables, beans, fruits, and grains constitute the four categories of carbohydrate. Whether you find them in a tree, garden, or meadow, you end up with a rich source of fiber in your hand. Fiber, it turns out, is not just a place holder. It is an important nutritional source on its own.

Dunn wrote that “Over the last thirty years the number of calories we eat has increased, but so has the number of those calories that come from highly processed foods. In this light, we would do well to eat fewer processed foods and more raw ones.” He’s right, but not because of the calories. He’s right mostly because of the nutrients.

It isn’t just fiber that’s missing in stripped carbs. It’s nutrition.   Dunn mentioned this in passing, saying that “Such foods, after all, tend to have more nutrients such as B vitamins, phytonutrients and minerals and so are good for reasons having nothing to do with counting calories.” Herein lies the pearl.

It’s not just that ultraprocessed items are easier to digest and therefore more calorie-dense. It’s that they are comparatively bankrupt as sources of nutrition. Consequently, your desire for nourishing food remains unsatisfied. That keeps you hungry, all the time. 

Consider the fact that while you could easily scarf down a large bag, or two, of Doritos over the course of a ballgame, or tip in a full sleeve of thin mint cookies, you feel full before you finish all the lettuce at the bottom of a giant-sized chef salad. And it would be difficult to contemplate the thought of drinking even half a teacup of extra-virgin olive oil. A teaspoon or two maybe, but a cup? Nutritious food is very filling.

It isn’t mainly about calories. It’s about sources of nutrition.