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Cracking the Calorie Code |
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Those confusing Calories. Are they good, are they bad?
To some people, Calories cause concerns because of overconsumption, inactivity and/or slow metabolisms. To others, calorie consumption is critical to maintain energy levels and avoid underweight conditions.
Calorie Close-Up
Calories are units used for measuring the energy stored in a food. All Calories come from either carbohydrates, proteins, fats or alcohol.
Energy: The Calorie Catalyst
Imagine food being a piece of coal and our bodies a blast furnace.
Like the furnace, the digestive system converts the energy from food (the coal) in order to power and energize the body. The more food (coal) fed into the body, the greater the effort required to burn and convert to energy. |
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For active, on-the-go people, Calories convert to energy and provide the fuel efficiency needed to maintain a balanced lifestyle. For more inactive, sedentary people, these Calories remain powerless in the body and go to various storage bins in the body.
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Caloric and nutritional needs are determined not only by age and activity but also by the size of an individual.
Think of the different grades of fuel at a gas station. The type of fuel used is often based on the size, condition and make-up of the vehicle.
A higher grade of fuel is typically needed for performance cars that will be driven harder, faster or longer and need the sustained power for peak performance. Thus, Calories are needed for performance and will be burned up more efficiently by people who lead more active, balanced lives.
Regular grade fuels, however, are used for cars that are driven less and not as fit or equipped to handle as much of a workload. Inactive people do not burn Calories efficiently and thus, their bodies are not as driven to convert food into energy. They instead store the unused Calories as fat…and fat slows bodies down!
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Like a car, your fuel (food) intake and level of activity will determine the efficiency at which you convert and exhaust Calories.
Different foods produce different amounts of energy:
1 gram of protein or carbohydrate has 4 Calories but 1 gram of fat
has 9 Calories making fat a more concentrated source of Calories.
Nutritionists have provided a type of "Calorie Calculator" to determine
how many Calories should be eaten daily to maintain current weight: |
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It's challenging to balance the appropriate amount of Calories for different ages, sizes, and activity levels. As of yet, there is no exact gauge to determine the specific caloric intake needed for each individual to lead a more balanced life.
Children and teens are growing rapidly and need plenty of energy – not only for physical activity but also for proper growth and development.
Excluding other extenuating health conditions, it's fairly easy to tell when someone is consuming too many or too few Calories. They will be either "overweight" or "underweight" for their size and activity level.
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The exact number of Calories needed daily to maintain (rather than lose or gain) current weight depends in great part on how active people are:
- Very active people can consume many more Calories without gaining weight.
- Sedentary people and/or people who habitually consume more Calories than the
body can burn off will likely gain weight, and risk becoming obese.
- Complications from obesity include high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes,
cancer and degenerative arthritis.
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Sources:
USDA - Nutrient Data Lab (Sept. 1996)
USDA School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children
US Dept of health and Human Services, Guidelines for School health programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating, June 1996
CNN.com, Food Resource Planner
2004 President and Fellows of Harvard College.
AHA Science Advisory: Stanol/Sterol Ester-Containing Foods and Blood Cholesterol Levels, #71-0201 Circulation. 2001;103:1177
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, School Lunch Report, August 2004
WebMD Health
National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements
AHA Conference Proceedings: Summary of the Scientific Conference on Dietary Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Health, #71-0200 Circulation. 2001;103:1034-1039
Journal of Epidemiology (May, 1992)
The Vitamin and Nutrition Center, 2004 |
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