Are all the calories you eat absorbed?
Asked by didason on May 11, 2009
in Eating Disorders
Let say I eat really well and stay within my calorie limit most of the time, but once a month I eat over 3500 calories in one day. Does my body absorb all of the calories from that one day? Is it possible to even process that many calories properly if my body isn't used to it?
Answer
If you are overriding your body’s capacity to digest nutrients, you will experience gas, cramping, urgency, and loose stools or diarrhea. But if that doesn’t happen, you should assume that the calories you eat are digested and absorbed. Under normal circumstances, almost all of the calories in food are absorbed. Even fibers, which resist digestion, are broken-down in the colon by bacteria. However, the body has other mechanisms for “wasting” extra calories. Brown fat turns extra calories into heat, and other metabolic adaptions may occur.
