Calories vs Carbs
Calories
A calorie is defined as “the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water up by 1 oC.” Calorie is mainly used to measure the food energy. 1 kilocalorie is equaled to 1000 calories. In food packaging, the energy value is mostly given by kilocalories or the word “Calorie” which has the same meaning as kilocalorie. Therefore, “calorie” and “Calorie” have two different meanings in food chemistry.
Obesity is a common problem these days; therefore, people are more concerned about the calories they take into their bodies. Not only for this, it is also important to know the energy amount of food we are taking, in order to maintain a healthy body. Food is needed for our body to produce energy. For example, 1 g of carbohydrate and 1 g of protein normally contain 4 Calories and 1 g of fat contains 9 Calories. The food we are taking in, undergo a process called metabolism. In this process, the chemical energy stored in food is converted into the chemical energy of ATP. ATP is needed to provide energy to all the functions in the body. If there is an excess amount of calorie consumption than the calories burned in the body, they will be stored as fat. As a result of that, the body weight will increase. People, to control the weight gain, can increase the burning rate of stored fat by exercising. However, if the consuming energy is less than what we want, then the body weight reduces. Different people need different calorie intakes per day depending on age, gender, size, environment and their daily activities. For example, children, athletes, and hard working people need more energy than elderly people.
Carbs
Carbs is the word commonly used to address dietary carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the main energy source in our bodies. Most people categorize food as good carbs and bad carbs. All the carbs are important for our bodies, but some are better. That is why it is referred as bad carbs and good carbs. Actually, depending on the type of food, they can be good carbs or bad carbs. Vegetables, fruits, and grains are good carbs. Further carbohydrates with fibres are categorized as good carbs. Most processed and refined food like white bread and white rice are not very good for health. Thus, they increase the risk of bad carbs. When there is a high amount of carbs in the diet, they break down and produce glucose, which is absorbed into our blood stream. This sugar retrieved from the diet is absorbed into cells, and through combustion required energy is produced. When there are a lot of carbs in the diet, body can constantly produce energy from it and can store some. Because of this, the fat layer will increase and obesity can result. One solution for losing weight is to have low carb diet. Low carb diet is the diet with limited carbohydrates (rich with proteins and fat). Since, it produces low amount of sugars inside the body, the fat storage will break down and use for the energy production.
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What is the difference between Calories and Carbs? • Carbohydrates are known as carbs. This is a major type of food we intake. Calorie is mainly used to measure the food energy. • 1G of carbs contains about 4 calories. • Compared to fat, carb food has less calorie amount.
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