
Society is increasingly aware of the importance of maintaining healthy nutritional habits throughout the year and not getting carried away by excess fats.
This greater commitment to the quality of food and the large number of people who follow low-calorie menus causes changes in typical Christmas meals. In many houses it is chosen to replace the traditional baked piglet with turkey, whose meat contains fewer calories, or change the classic nougat and marzipan for dessert for a fruit salad rich in vitamins.
However, all these efforts to maintain a healthier diet at Christmas can be in vain if we do not pay enough attention to the so-called “hidden calories”, that is, seemingly harmless foods that hide behind them a very high energy value.
Calories aren’t just in food. “Drinks are the great forgotten in the diet of Spaniards. It is useless to ask for a salad and a grilled fish fillet if we water the food with alcoholic beverages or sugary soft drinks in excess, “says Laura Labernia, head of the Nutrition and Dietetics Unit of Clínica Opción Médica. “It is as important to select foods well as to decide what we are going to accompany them with,” clarifies the specialist.
Hidden or empty calories
Soft drinks with added sugars and alcoholic beverages mean direct calories for the body that also do not provide any nutritional benefit. That’s why nutritionists refer to them as ’empty calories’ or ‘hidden calories’.
Each gram of alcohol contains about 7 Kcal, a substantially higher percentage than that of carbohydrates or proteins (4Kcal). The intake of alcohol also inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and minerals, “as Laura Labernia explains.
“With each glass of white wine we will be ingesting 87 Kcal, a glass of beer adds 95 Kcal to our body and a, a priori, innocent Gin and tonic gives us approximately 390 Kcal, the same as a good plate of spaghetti with tomato, “analyzes the nutritionist.
If we talk about cocktails, the figures shoot up much more, since the calories of alcohol must be added to those of the juices and soft drinks that accompany it. A caipirinha of about 300ml would provide, for example, 320 Kcal and a piña colada 200Kcal.
To keep calories under control and not ruin the effort made throughout the year, opt for low-calorie drinks: teas, light soft drinks, waters or non-alcoholic beer are good options.