Calorie
The Health of It All
"Just what the heck is a calorie and what do I do with
it?!" I hear this a lot from my patients and knowing the answer is the basis
for success in eating well.
The calorie is a unit of measure of energy, sort of like
the watts on a light bulb. It takes more energy (watts) to burn a brighter
bulb, just as it takes more energy (calories) to climb the stairs than using
the elevator.
The energy your body needs to operate comes from three
different fuels: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, and the foods that you eat
contain some or all of these. Each gram of carbohydrate or protein has four
calories, while a gram of fat has nine.
This gap between the number of calories in fats and
carbohydrates or proteins is one of the reasons why a high fat diet can be bad
for you. Because fats are denser, it's easy to eat over double the calories by
eating the same weight of fats as carbohydrates or proteins.
For instance, a tablespoon of granulated sugar has 46
calories, while a tablespoon of butter has 119 calories—even though they both
are the same measure and weigh about the same. Read More "The Health of It All..." Articles
About The Health of It All....
This is an index of the health notes included in recipes. These short tidbits of information can help answer questions on everything from Omega-3 Fats in fish to whether to cook chicken with the skin on or not. Want to know about garlic and cholesterol? Is it okay to eat eggs or not? It’s all here.