Staying Healthy in the Fast Lane

the triad diet program

What Is Caloric Density?

“Caloric density” (CD) means how many calories you have per
weight/mass of food. It is kind of like the “sister” of nutrient den-
sity. Using them together—consuming foods with high nutrient
density and low caloric density—is the prescription for a healthy
diet that we can eat a lot of and still stay lean and healthy. Usually
caloric density is calculated to be the amount of calories contained
in one gram of a given food (calories/grams = CD).^3 So, to find the
CD of a food, look at the serving size on the label. Put the calories of
the serving size over the weight in grams of the serving size. Then
you can calculate the caloric density.

• Very Low Caloric Density = 0.0 to 0.7


• Low to Moderate Caloric Density = 0.8 to 1.5


• Moderate to High Caloric Density = 1.6 to 3.0


• Very High Caloric Density = 3.1 and up

Let’s see how this translates to the foods we actually eat:^4

• A whole apple contains 72 calories and weighs 132 grams.
  Therefore the caloric density of one apple is .57 (78 cal/138
  g), which is a very low caloric density, so you can virtually eat
  all the apples you want.


• A plain enriched bagel is 71 grams and 182 calories. Its ca-
  loric density is 2.56 (182 cal/71 g). This has a moderate to
  high caloric density. You want to watch your portion size.


• One ounce of almonds (24 almonds) is 28.35 grams or 163 cal-
  ories, which provides a caloric density of 5.6 (163 cal/28.35 g).
  This is very high, so you want to eat this amount sparingly.


• A three-ounce piece of lean, fat-trimmed, top sirloin steak
  that has been broiled has a caloric density of 1.91 (163 cal/85
  gm), which is in the moderate to high range. That means you
  need to watch your portion size.


• One tablespoon of olive oil is 13.5 grams and 119 calories.
  This small amount of oil has a caloric density of 8.8 (119
  cal/13.5 g), which is very high. You want to eat this amount
  sparingly.