Nutrient-Dense Foods

Each month Rehab United Physical Therapy and Sports Performance Center will highlight a different topic for our RU Fit? blog.  We will post training tips on our Facebook Page each week and summarize them at the end of each month.  For July, we discussed nutrition, specifically nutrient-dense foods and drinks.  Read below for more!

Nutrient density refers to the amount of quality nutrients a food or beverage has for its volume.  Nutrient-dense foods have high amounts of vitamins, minerals and fiber with relatively few calories.  Examples include non-starchy vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and fat-free dairy.  Focus on nutrient-dense foods if weight loss is your goal.

Calorie-dense foods, on the other hand, have high amounts of calories for their volume.  Fried foods are an example of calorie-dense foods as they contain calories from the food itself (such as potatoes) plus the extra calories from the oil (and potentially the breading, which acts like a sponge for the oil).  Other examples include candy bars, regular soda, fruit juice, chips, cheese, most salad dressings and smoothies.  If weight gain is your goal, focus on calorie-dense foods that are also nutrient dense (nuts, seeds, dried fruits, nut butters, avocado, whole grains).

A few suggestions to increase the nutrient density of your meals and snacks:

Cut the Calories, keep the taste!
Breakfast: Use half whole eggs, half egg whites; Lunch: Have meat OR cheese on your sandwich; Dinner: Mix half of your pasta with cooked vegetables.

Sweeten drinks & snacks yourself:
1-2 teaspoons of sugar or honey in your tea will provide significantly less Calories than a bottled tea or soda. Likewise, a few teaspoons of honey, agave nectar or berries in plain yogurt will be less calories than "fruit on the bottom" yogurt and healthier than artificially-sweetened products.

Veggie taco shell:
Try butter leaf lettuce leaves instead of taco shells or tortillas to save around 100 Calories per taco!

Justin Robinson, MA,RD,CSSD,CSCS,FAFS
Registered Dietitian