Nigeria, Feb. 15 -- A calorie is a unit of energy, specifically a measure of how much stored energy exists in food. However, stored or potential energy is not the same as energy actively flowing through a living system. Much of modern nutrition conversation quietly treats these two ideas as if they were interchangeable, yet they are distinctly different and understanding that difference could gently encourage more movement in everyday life with cumulative metabolic health benefits.

When we eat, we introduce food substrates, which often include a mix of glucose, fats, and amino acids, into a dynamic biological engine. Each of these substrates carries stored possibilities that may either be transformed into movement and heat or remain in s...