Dr Lockie's Blog

Processed Foods and Calorie Absorption

12th January 2026

Why Not All Calories Are Created Equal

There has been recent interest in the types of foods that people eat, and calorie absorption. Studies are now showing that consuming whole foods, including the skin can be beneficial in managing weight and the calories you absorb.

Whole Foods Vs Processed Foods

Here are some facts and benefits of eating whole foods,

• More of the calories in those foods are not absorbed and end up being passed out into the toilet, helping to keep our gastro-intestinal tract healthy.
• The fibre in the skin of foods and polyphenols, which are compounds in plants that confer many of their health benefits, help to regulate your appetite.
• These leftover bioactive components are then further transformed by your gut microbiome into metabolites, chemicals that naturally further decrease your appetite.
• These metabolites operate in a similar fashion to the GLP1 weight loss drugs that are currently being prescribed in increasing amounts around the world.

In contrast:

• Processed foods generally lack the bioactive chemicals and contain higher levels of salt, sugar, and fat
• This makes them very palatable but also leads to increased cravings
• So that means more consumption, and which helps with more profits to the large food companies but a loss for your health.

Cell Level Processes

At a cellular level, your mitochondria are important in how your body burns calories. We all consume more calories in the day than we need and your body burns off a lot of these calories via the mitochondria.

Studies have shown that healthy individuals have high-capacity mitochondria that can burn off excess calories, whereas those with metabolic diseases, have mitochondria that do not work as well, contributing to higher appetite, less muscle formation, and increased fat storage.

They also have less brown fat, which is the fat that is used to produce heat. Interestingly, studies have demonstrated a decline in average body temperature in the United States since the industrial revolution, and generally, obese individuals have a lower body temperature.

Recent Studies Highlight The Role Of Whole Foods

Recent studies have shown that whole foods with macronutrients, fibre, and polyphenols from vegetables and fermented products have a role in the production of metabolites. This may explain why the Mediterranean diet, which is high in nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and fermented foods, may be better than the traditional high-fat, low-carbohydrate Western diet.

Bioactive compounds pass through into the large intestine where the microbiome bacteria convert them into active metabolites, which are then absorbed and have a direct impact on mitochondria in your cells and how they operate.

These metabolites may also have a role in epigenetics, which is a process in which certain genes are turned off and on. Epigenetics is the process by which an individual's body weight can influence the ultimate health of their offspring in later life.

There is also some research suggesting that a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet influences mitochondrial function through the ketone beta-hydroxybutyrate. Similar benefits may also be seen in intermittent fasting.

So in summary, it is not necessarily how many calories you eat, but what types of calories you eat. Less processed food, more nuts, fruits, seeds and whole foods can be beneficial in the long term.

How Can Dr Lockie Help

There is no one size fits all approach at Dr Lockie's Practice. Every patient is assessed and advised based on their individual circumstances.

We then have our Multi-Disciplinary team to be able to treat our patient in an optimal way, and have the options to suit your situation and lifestyle.

Start by scheduling a free initial consultation (100% medicare funded) with our SCOPE certified NP, Shirley Lockie, here.

References

Corbin, K.D., Carnero, E.A., Dirks, B. et al. Host-diet-gut microbiome interactions influence human energy balance: a randomized clinical trial. Nat Commun 14, 3161 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38778-x

P. Mena,  A. Crozier,  G. Williamson,  Effects of Polyphenols on Glucose-Induced Metabolic Changes in Healthy Human Subjects and on Glucose Transporters. Mol. Nutr. Food Res.  2022,  66, 2101113. https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.202101113

Hu, X., Xia, K., Dai, M. et al. Intermittent fasting modulates the intestinal microbiota and improves obesity and host energy metabolism. npj Biofilms Microbiomes 9, 19 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-023-00386-4

Chriett, S., Dąbek, A., Wojtala, M. et al. Prominent action of butyrate over β-hydroxybutyrate as histone deacetylase inhibitor, transcriptional modulator and anti-inflammatory molecule. Sci Rep 9, 742 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36941-9

Reynés B, Palou M, Rodríguez AM and Palou A (2019) Regulation of Adaptive Thermogenesis and Browning by Prebiotics and Postbiotics. Front. Physiol. 9:1908. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01908

Khalil M, Shanmugam H, Abdallah H, John Britto JS, Galerati I, Gómez-Ambrosi J, Frühbeck G, Portincasa P. The Potential of the Mediterranean Diet to Improve Mitochondrial Function in Experimental Models of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome. Nutrients. 2022; 14(15):3112. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14153112

Myroslava Protsiv, Catherine Ley, Joanna Lankester, Trevor Hastie, Julie Parsonnet (2020) Decreasing human body temperature in the United States since the Industrial Revolution eLife 9:e49555

https://theconversation.com/your-body-already-has-a-built-in-weight-loss-system-that-works-like-wegovy-ozempic-and-mounjaro-food-and-your-gut-microbiome-220272