Foods with no nutritional value are those that supply calories from added sugar, refined flour, or solid fats while delivering little to no protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, or healthy fats. Common examples include regular soda, hard candy, sugary drinks, and most cakes and cookies. Nutrition experts call these “empty calories” because the body gets energy from them but almost nothing else it needs.
The term matters more than most people realize. Calories are not the whole story. A 150-calorie serving of almonds and a 150-calorie serving of jelly beans register the same on a label, but the body does very different things with each. One carries protein, fiber, and unsaturated fat. The other is mostly sugar and delivers almost nothing beyond quick energy.
This article explains what empty calories actually are, which foods and drinks carry them, why they matter for health, and how to think about them without turning food into a math problem.
What Does “Empty Calories” Actually Mean?
An empty calorie is a calorie that comes with little or no accompanying nutrition. The phrase describes the gap between the energy a food provides and the nutrients it delivers alongside that energy.
Every calorie you eat comes from one of three macronutrients: carbohydrate, protein, or fat. In a nutrient-dense food, those calories arrive packaged with vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, or beneficial fats. In an empty-calorie food, the calories arrive mostly alone.
The concept traces back to dietary guidance that separates foods providing solid nutrition from those that mainly add energy. The United States Department of Agriculture and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans have used the term for years, generally defining empty calories as calories from added sugars and solid fats. The key word is added. Sugar naturally present in fruit or plain milk is not counted the same way, because those foods also bring fiber, vitamins, minerals, or protein.
One clarification worth holding onto: “empty” does not mean “poisonous.” It means nutritionally thin. A food can be low in nutrients and still be enjoyable, affordable, and part of a normal life. The problem arises when empty-calorie foods crowd out the nutrient-dense foods your body needs.
What Food Has No Nutritional Value Empty Calories?
The clearest examples are sugary drinks, sweets, and refined baked goods. These foods and drinks tend to be high in added sugar or solid fat and low in just about everything else.
- Regular soda and sweetened beverages. A standard 12-ounce can of regular cola contains roughly 39 grams of sugar, almost entirely from added sugar, with no protein, fiber, vitamins, or minerals of note.
- Hard candy, jelly beans, and most chewy candies. Nearly pure sugar with little else.
- Cakes, cookies, pastries, and doughnuts. Usually built from refined flour, added sugar, and solid fat, with minimal fiber or micronutrients.
- Table sugar, syrups, and sweetened toppings. Added sugar in its most direct form.
- Most chips and fried snacks. Refined starch and oil with little protein or fiber.
- Sweetened coffee and energy drinks. The added sugar and syrups often outweigh any nutritional contribution.
Some foods sit in a gray zone. White bread and white rice are refined grains, so they lose much of the fiber and some micronutrients found in whole grains. Many are enriched, meaning some vitamins and iron are added back. They are not truly empty, but they are far less nutrient-dense than their whole-grain counterparts.
Alcohol deserves its own mention. It supplies calories (about 7 per gram) with essentially no vitamins or minerals, and it is not a nutrient your body needs. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise that if you drink, drink in moderation, and some people should not drink at all.
Why Do Empty Calories Matter for Health?
Empty calories matter because they use up part of your daily energy budget without paying it back in nutrients. Most people have a calorie intake that supports a healthy weight. When a large share of that intake comes from added sugar and solid fat, there is less room for the foods that supply protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
The concern is not a single soda. It is the pattern. Diets heavy in added sugars and refined foods are consistently linked in research to a higher risk of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend keeping added sugars to less than 10% of total daily calories. For someone eating 2,000 calories a day, that is about 200 calories, or roughly 50 grams of added sugar.
Liquid sugar is a particular issue. Sugary drinks deliver calories quickly and do not trigger the same fullness signals as solid food. Some studies suggest that calories from beverages are less well regulated by appetite, which is one reason health organizations single out sweetened drinks. This is a case where a small change — swapping one daily soda for water — can meaningfully shift the overall diet.
None of this means a single dessert is a health risk. The evidence points to habitual intake over time, not occasional treats.
Are All Calories From Sugar and Fat the Same?
No. Calories from added sugar and solid fat behave differently in the body than calories from protein, fiber, and unsaturated fat, even when the calorie count matches.
Fiber slows digestion and helps you feel full. Protein does the same and supports muscle maintenance. Unsaturated fats, found in nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fish, are associated with heart health. A food built on added sugar and solid fat lacks these effects, so it tends to satisfy hunger less and provide fewer building blocks.
This is why nutrition guidance focuses on food quality, not just calorie totals. Two people can eat the same number of calories and end up with very different nutrient intakes.
There is also a practical trap. Foods high in added sugar and refined starch are easy to overeat. They are engineered to be palatable and are often low in the fiber and protein that would otherwise signal fullness. That combination makes it easy to take in more calories than intended without noticing.
How Can You Spot Empty Calories on a Label?
Reading the ingredient list is often faster than scanning the nutrition facts. Ingredients are listed by weight, so added sugars near the top signal a food built largely on them.
Added sugars appear under many names. Look for:
- Sugar, brown sugar, and raw sugar
- High-fructose corn syrup and corn syrup
- Dextrose, maltose, and sucrose
- Honey, maple syrup, and molasses (these are added sugars when used as sweeteners)
- Fruit juice concentrate used as a sweetener
- Agave and rice syrup
On the nutrition facts panel, the “Added Sugars” line gives the total in grams. The “Fiber” and “Protein” lines tell you what the food gives back. A snack with a lot of added sugar and almost no fiber or protein is a classic empty-calorie choice.
One useful habit: compare two similar products and pick the one with more fiber and protein and less added sugar. That single comparison often separates nutrient-dense foods from empty ones.
Can You Include Empty Calories in a Healthy Diet?
Yes. Nutrition guidance is built around overall patterns, not perfection. The Dietary Guidelines frame the goal as making most of your choices nutrient-dense while leaving room for foods that are enjoyable but low in nutrients.
The practical approach is to build meals around nutrient-dense foods first: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, lean protein, and dairy or fortified alternatives. When those form the base of your diet, occasional sweets or a soda fit without crowding out what your body needs.
What matters is proportion. If empty-calorie foods are a small part of the picture, they are not a health concern. If they replace meals, fruits, vegetables, or protein, they become one.
Small swaps add up over time. Water or sparkling water in place of sweetened drinks. Fruit in place of candy. Whole-grain bread in place of white. None of these requires giving up foods you enjoy. They simply shift the balance toward foods that pay you back in nutrients.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common empty calorie food?
Sugary drinks like regular soda and sweetened beverages are among the most common sources of empty calories in the US diet. They supply added sugar with almost no protein, fiber, vitamins, or minerals.
Is white rice an empty calorie food?
Not truly. White rice is a refined grain that loses much of its fiber and some micronutrients during processing, and much of it is enriched with added vitamins and iron. It is less nutrient-dense than brown rice but still provides energy and some nutrients.
How many empty calories a day is too many?
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend keeping added sugars to less than 10% of total daily calories. For a 2,000-calorie diet, that is about 200 calories from added sugar per day.
Are foods with no nutritional value always unhealthy?
Not on their own. A single low-nutrient food is not a health risk. The concern is when empty-calorie foods make up a large share of the diet and push out foods that provide protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
