Lets Talk Calories

Lets talk a little about the "C" word. Calories! Calories in my opinion have very little or no value to consumers today. Unfortunately people still look at Calories as a staple to dieting. Most people probable don't even know what a Calorie is or how it is calculated. Calories once had a place in the world of healthy living, but today's information and higher understanding of health have knocked Calories down from their pedestal.

Let's look at what Calories represent. A calorie is a unit of energy. It can represent electrical, chemical and physical energy. Each type is individual and separate from the other. One Calorie is the amount of energy needed to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius (times 1000). The way to determine the amount of Calories in food is by burning it. If, when burned, one once of ground beef raises one kilogram of water 5.9 degrees, then you can calculate that there are 5.9 Calories in one once of ground beef.

What makes up the Calories is more important than the amount of Calories. Calories represent everything organic. Water, salts and trace minerals are not counted since they do not burn. Fats, carb's, sugars, proteins and fiber are all counted as a whole. This is why counting Calories does not work alone. All should be considered separately and then compared to the whole. Jenny Craig does attempt this by placing values on food based on fats and carb's in a broad range.

Lets now look at the individual parts. Water, salts, and minerals do not effect body weight but are important for nutrition. Fiber, a carbohydrate which is non digestible, is important for digestive health. Fiber is counted in Calories, but has no impact on body fat. Proteins are digested into Amino Acids. Amino Acids are a fundamental part of all the cells in your body. Proteins are necessary for your health but do not increase body fat. They do play a big roll in building muscle mass. These components are included in the overall Calorie count, but has no place in a weight loss diet. If just counting Calories, you maybe reducing needed vitamins, proteins and fiber based on food choices by caloric value.

Carbohydrates and sugar. Sugar is a simple form of carbohydrate. So simple that it can be digested in your mouth straight into the blood stream. Even though sugar by itself does not turn to fat it is a trigger that will tell your body to store food in the fat cells.

Lets talk about fat cells for a minute. Think of fat cells like a refrigerator. You store food in it from the market; as you use the food up you replace it. If you start getting more food than you need, you eat what is fresh and keep storing everything else. When the refrigerator becomes full, you get another refrigerator to store more. Your body has a certain number of fat cells originally. If not used they are small. When used to store food they enlarge. At some point your body will make more fat cells if it needs to store more food. The food in the cells is easy to loose. The fat cells themselves are harder to get rid of.

Back to carb's. Sugar also effects glucose ( blood sugar ) levels which can lead to other health problems like diabetes. When burning energy your body will use the easiest form first, sugar, followed by carb's then stored fat. Carb's are a complex form of sugar that can be digested, but needs to be broken down to be used. If there is too much sugar in the blood your body will remove it. Carb's, sugar and fatty acids will be transformed into storeable sugar. Some simple sugar will either be used or stored in the liver and muscle tissue. This is where most body fat will come from. When you look at the nutritional part of a label you will see total carb's, dietary fiber and sugar. This is very helpful information when on a weight loss diet.

Fat!!!! There is a myth that to lose weight you stop eating fat. People equate fat in food with fat in their body. Not the same. If a doctor puts you on a low fat diet it's not to lose weight. Low fat diets are generally for people with heart conditions, high cholesterol or a circulatory problem. Fat has its place in your body. Fat, when digested, enters your body's blood as fatty acids and gets a new name, cholesterol. It has a purpose. Lets think about this! Fats are greasy, oily and slimy, what could they possibly do? Well, that's what they do. Blood is cells that act like a liquid. They course through our bodies rubbing against the cells that make up arteries and veins. Fat acts as a lubricant reducing friction and heat buildup. Too much fat is not good. Unfortunately most people have too much fat in their diets. Reducing the wrong fats is good. Cutting out fat from you diet is not good.

This is why counting Calories is not a good way to lose weight. You must balance the components of the food you eat. Eating more good veggies ( not starchy ones ) and leaner meats is very good for your health and heart.

Be Well

Bill