Weekly Health Care

Posts Tagged ‘calories’

When choosing food, it is not always possible or convenient to consult the label or a database to determine their caloric intake. Some basic help to get a better idea of the approximate calories they contain.

The nutrients that provide calories are carbohydrates (sugars) (1), proteins and lipids (fats). Alcohol also contains.

The fibers present in large quantities in fruits and vegetables do not provide calories because they are poorly digested or indigestible (by slowing digestion, however, they increase the uptake of other nutrients and prolong satiety). Vitamins and trace elements do not provide calories.

For the same weight, fat contains more than twice the calories of carbohydrates and proteins. Here is their contribution to 1 gram and 100 grams:

- Carbohydrates: 4 cal / g (or 400 per 100 g)
- Protein: 4 cal / g (or 400 per 100 g)
- Fat: 9 cal per g (or 900 per 100 g)
- Alcohol: 7 cal per g (700 per 100 g).

Alcohol is more calories than carbohydrates and protein but less than fat. One drink contains 10 grams of alcohol.

The foods most rich in fat and those who are most dense foods (See: Building on satiation with a diet based on caloric density to lose weight).

Note that the ratio of calories from fat and carbohydrate (or protein) for the same weight does not translate to the volume (which contains a variable weight depending on the ingredients), for examples:

- 1 tsp. tablespoon vegetable oil: 90 calories
- 1 tsp. tablespoons margarine: 75 calories
- 1 tsp. tablespoon sugar: 60 calories
- 1 tsp. tablespoon honey: 80 calories

How many calories do I need?

We need to have an energy balance, eating the same calories that we spend every day, so in order not to lose weight or increase is necessary to take account of the energy expended to live our body, ie sleeping, digesting food, moving blood through the arteries, breathe and think, and many more functional activities.

To find out how many calories you need, we must first perform the calculation of basal metabolism which accounts for 60-70 percent of total calories that our body spends every day and therefore should be substituted for healthy living.
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