And to further prove that a calorie is NOT just a calorie, guess what happens when you overfeed on peanuts versus candy? That's right, you get fat on candy whereas peanuts increases your metabolic rate. Go figure, eh? It's great reading...check it out!
Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2009;69(5):598-605. Two weeks of overfeeding with candy, but not peanuts, increases insulin levels and body weight. Claesson AL, Holm G, Ernersson A, Lindström T, Nystrom FH. Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Diabetes Research Centre, Faculty of
Health Sciences, Linkoping University, Linkoping, Sweden.
OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of snacking based on fast acting carbohydrates
(candy) or fat and protein (peanuts) in a prospective randomized, parallel
intervention study. METHODS: Basal metabolic rate (BMR) and cardiovascular risk
factors were measured before and after hyper-alimentation by addition of 20
kcal/kg (84 kJ/kg) body weight of either candy or roasted peanuts, to the regular
caloric intake, for two weeks in healthy subjects. Eleven men and 14 women
completed the randomized study. RESULTS: Energy-intake increased similarly in the
groups (candy: +46.1+/-35%, peanuts: +46.8+/-28% p=0.96). Body-weight (candy: from 67.3+/-7.6 kg to 68.1+/-7.3 kg, p=0.01, nuts: from 68.7+/-6.1 kg to
69.0+/-5.7 kg p=0.3) and waist circumference increased significantly only in the
candy group. At the end of the study LDL cholesterol (candy: 2.6+/-0.4 mmol/l
peanuts: 2.1+/-0.4 mmol/l, p=0.005) and ApoB/ApoA-1-ratio (candy: 0.68+/-0.16
peanuts 0.53+/-0.11, p=0.01) were higher in the candy group than in the peanut
group. On the other hand, BMR increased only in the peanut group (candy: from
6.657+/-1.1 MJ/24 h to 6.762+/-1.1 MJ/24 h, p=0.3 nuts: from 6.896+/-0.98 MJ/24 h to 7.256+/-1.1 MJ/24 h, p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Two weeks of snacking based on peanuts does not cause the same negative metabolic effects as an isocaloric diet in which the snacking is based on short acting carbohydrates in the form of candy in non-obese healthy subjects.
