Calorie is a unit of energy, like centigrade or fahrenheit are unit of temperature. In the term of food, It generally known as “Food Calorie” and though it usually called Calorie, it refers to kilo-calorie (1kcal =1000 Cal) so if somebody mention 2000 calorie per day requirement it actually means 2000 kcal.
Every living being require energy to live. You require energy even if you are not doing anything actively. Your brain require energy to think, your lungs to breath, your heart to beat & so on… each & every cell requires energy to function. Minimum requirement of energy depend on BMR ( Basal Metabolic Rate: rate of energy expenditure per unit time at rest).
From where we get that energy?
There are only three food ingredients which can provide energy & they are Fat, Protein & Carbohydrate also referred as macro-nutrients. Each gram of protein & carbohydrate provide 4 kcal respectively & fat give 9 kcal per gram. Any food, if contain any of these macro-nutrients, even in small amounts, is technically not zero calorie food. To know how to calculate calorie in food, let’s take few examples. 100 gram of raw rice contains 7 gram protein, 0.5 gram fat & 78 gram carbohydrate so it gives total 344.5 kcal (protein 7×4=28, fat 0.5×9=4.5, carbohydrate 78×4=312). 100 gram of whole wheat contains 11.8 gram protein, 1.5 gram fat & 71.2 gram carbohydrate hence it provides 345.5 kcal.
Energy consumption depends on individual weight, height, sex, age and activity level. So let’s assume if somebody require 2000 kcal per day he or she should fulfill the requirement by consuming mix of foods, which contains all three macro-nutrients (Fat, protein & carbohydrate) in balance amount.
What happened if consumed less/more calorie than required
If you consume less calorie, your body fulfill the requirements by utilizing body stores of fat, glucose & protein which resulted to weight loss & if consumed more calorie, body stores most of it in the form of fat cells (sadly!) which resulted to unhealthy weight gain. So ultimately, body maintain/balance its required calorie amount by both ways.
Hope you like this “FOOD FACT” & it helps clear your basic doubt about calorie. Awaiting your feedback or queries if any.
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