The Science of Counting Calorie

Biochemistry for Eaters

Nuclear physicist Ernest Rutherford said that all science is either physics or stamp collecting. Here, I will not make lists like “Top 10 Nutritional Facts” or “The 3 Magic Foods for Losing Weight,” nor parrot truisms such as “eat less, exercise more.” Instead, we are going to dig into the science of calories, exploring their physical, chemical, and metrological intricacies. We’ll take a closer look at how our bodies transform food into calories, the metabolic path to body fat, and what we really lose when we lose weight. With this scientific framework for thinking about dieting, I will offer an unjaded answer to the question, “Should we count calories?”

But first, let's find out what we talk about when we talk about calories.