Calorie Counter


Nutrition and Calories Explained

The food that you consume in your everyday life contributes to the nutrition and energy your body needs to survive so eat and enjoy and don't feel guilty if you have eaten the wrong types of food. The problem is not getting enough food especially in the western world it is getting the right foods with enough nutrition to sustain bodies needs. There is a ton of advice out there on the WWW but when you sit down and think about it the basic need for good health has remained unchanged for centuries.
As I mentioned Nutrients needed for our bodies which these are an essential part for good health and would you be surprised to learn that your body needs in access of 45 nutrients every day and are essential to your health and contained in your daily food intake.
There are 5 different classes of nutrients and these are as follows:
• Fats (saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids
• Proteins (there are at least 20 amino acids however, in certain organisms the genetic code can include selenocysteine and in certain archaea, pyrrolysine.
• Carbohydrates (starches, sugar and fiber)
• Minerals
• Vitamins
You will find that these nutrients perform different functions in the body while interacting with the body chemicals; they help maintain and repair body tissues. They also supply substances to help regulate processes in the body.
These nutrients mentioned above carry out their own specialist work as they maintain the functions of the body. There is some work has to be done with the nutrients working together and these activities are called nutrient specific and cannot be done by other nutrients, an extra supply of nutrient cannot make up for a shortage of another nutrient. This is the reason that a well balanced diet which should include all food groups is vital. The body relies on all nutrients and some have to be replenished on a daily basis and the body stores other nutrients so they can be used again in the future.
Among the six classes of nutrients there are only three which provide energy; carbohydrates, fats and proteins. We use energy whenever we breathe, when the heart pumps blood, in fact any movement you make as in when you stand or sit, walking and the more activity you do the more energy you need to carry out these functions.
Energy contained in a carbohydrate, fat or protein are measured in kilo calories and best known as calories. These are measurement of energy to the body. Think of this as the number of calories it contains then this is the number of energy units that is provided to the body for all its needs and calories are a measurement of energy your body will use in your daily activity whether just plain old walking etc or exercising
The energy contained in a carbohydrate, fat or protein is measured in kilo calories, commonly shortened to "calories" in the United States. The calorie is a measure of energy available to the body. When you eat something, the number of calories it contains is the number of energy units it provides to the body for its needs. The calorie is also a measure of energy your body uses in everyday life or exercise.
How do we measure calories in food, well this is done by using a special instrument called a bomb calorimeter.
Food is first dried to remove all water and then placed in a container that is then rested in water. When the food is burned heat is then transformed to the water. The amount the burning food heats the water then this is how we measure calories. For example the calorie is the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water to 1 centigrade of water.
Here are the values of the three calorie providing nutrients:
1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
1 gram of fat = 9 calories
You will also find calories in alcohol and as alcohol is not a nutrient it cannot be used by your body to promote growth, maintain or repair tissues etc and is a toxin that when broken down as energy and can also be turned into fat.
Typically 1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories
Nearly all food groups supply energy or if you like calories, where some will provide more than others. Ii cannot be said that no single food will be fattening on its own. When you consume food and do not take physical exercise of some kind and that doesn't mean taking out a full year's subscription to a gym, but just some as said before something like walking as an example, if you were to do no exercise then the excess food will be stored in the body as fat and then hence you wonder why you have become overweight.
So try to do some form exercise to burn those calories off. You will feel all the better for exercising and this will also help you to lead a much healthier lifestyle and give you a longer lifespan, but remember you must eat healthy nutritional foods and throw in some exercise for good measure to accomplish this.
Hello my name is Ian and I am the administrator of http://www.weighles.com. If you would like further advice on weight loss, exercise dieting etc. then please feel free to visit my web site at the address above. Thank you for taking the time to read my article.



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