Tag: Calories cooked vs raw

Food weight can change by up to 75% during cooking, primarily due to moisture loss or absorption. This makes knowing how to calculate nutritional value of cooked food essential for accurate dietary tracking and health management. This guide will walk you through the correct methods to ensure your nutrient counting is as precise as possible, whether you're meal prepping or just curious about your dinner.

According to a Harvard study, cooking food allows the body to extract significantly more calories than eating it raw, an evolutionary advantage that fueled the development of the large human brain. This finding challenges the simple notion that all calories are equal and begs the question: 'Should calories be cooked or raw?' when planning your diet? (Markdown OK).

According to data from the USDA, 1 pound of raw 85/15 ground beef contains approximately 975 calories. A serving of 6oz of 85-15 ground beef contains a specific number of calories depending on whether it's raw or cooked, a factor that significantly affects the nutritional outcome due to moisture and fat loss.