Lately many people have been coming to me saying these two sentences, “I’ve heard that bananas are calorie bombs, is this true?” and, “I don’t eat carrots because they are calorie bombs.” There is so much confusion over what’s healthy and what isn’t. And a lot of misinformation going around. Let’s compare 2 common afternoon snacks with carrots and bananas and see how they measure up.

Snickers Bar

271 Calories 14g Fat 1g Fiber 29g Sugar

  Ingredients: MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR, COCOA BUTTER, CHOCOLATE, SKIM MILK, LACTOSE, MILKFAT, SOY LECITHIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR), PEANUTS, CORN SYRUP (GMO*), SUGAR, MILKFAT, SKIM MILK, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL (I.E. Trans Fat*), LACTOSE, SALT, EGG WHITES, CHOCOLATE, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR. MAY CONTAIN ALMONDS

 Wheat Thins-1 serving (15 crackers)

140 Calories 4.5g Fat 2g Fiber 4g Protein

  Ingredients: WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, SOYBEAN OIL (Highly inflammatory*), CORNSTARCH (GMO*), MALT SYRUP (GMO*), SALT, INVERT SUGAR, LEAVENING, VEGETABLE COLOR, BHT. (contains 3 types of highly processed white sugar which is highly inflammatory and addicting*)

Carrots- 1 cup chopped

50 Calories 0 Fat 4g Fiber 6g Sugar

428% of our daily value of Vitamin A, 20% DV of Vitamin K, 11% DV of Potassium and many more vitamins and minerals.

9” banana (This is a huge banana)

135 Calories 1g Fat 4g Fiber 19g Sugar

21% DV of B6, 17% DV of Vitamin C, 16% Manganese and 12% DV of Potassium

 

Now that you’ve had a chance to compare calories, fat, fiber and sugars in these foods, let’s focus on sugar. While bananas and carrots do have more than most other fruits and vegetables you’ll see that they are so full of nutrients and fiber that processed foods can’t even stack up in comparison. Bananas and carrots fructose has almost nothing in common with sugar that is added to processed foods. Refined sugar added to boxed foods is a nutritionally depleted, highly processed form of sugar cane. It is the cocaine version of the cocao plant basically. Processed sugar is highly addicting and goes straight into our bloodstream and does all kinds of damage inside our bodies. Sugar in fruits and vegetables is designed for our bodies and also has the built in insulator that slows down the absorption of the sugar into our bloodstream,fiber.

Aside from sugar, carrots and bananas are just that. Carrots…and bananas. There are no man made, chemical ingredients. No preservatives. No questionable GMO products. No trans fats.

Hopefully you see that there are serious misconceptions being spread about some really awesome, whole, straight from the earth foods. I actually don’t count calories because whole, unprocessed fruits and veggies are truly low calorie and the sources we get our almost all our vitamins and minerals from. (You won’t find a fruit or vegetable that clocks in the equivalent calories of a snickers bar!) When you eat foods based on the nutrient density rather than the number of calories you’ll see that you feel better, look better, have more energy and lose weight. In summary, it’s truly quality over quantity.

 

Sources:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/5461/2

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=7

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=21

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrientprofile&dbid=92