What are calories?

Which is more important? caloriesand kilocalories?

"Current "calorie" we refer to in our food is actually Kilocalorie. One (1) Kilocalorie is equivalent to one (1) Calorie (uppercase C). Kilocalorie is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of a kilogram of water one degree Celsius.

How is the caloric value of food determined?

It is possible to think that it's through the observation of how they lead to weight gain, but no. Not so.

Avery excellent question to be asked because most people do not know the meaning of calories. First , a calorie is not something that is able to be filled or empty. It is not possible to put calories into the bottle. It is not possible to put calories in a bottle. calorie is a unit of energy measurement. It is that amount needed to increase the temperature of an mL, (which is also one gram), of water by one degree Celsius. If you're determined to be a stickler for detail, it is that energy that is required to raise your temperature by 14.5 to 15.5 to 15.5 degrees C. The word calorie is actually coined by the famous French chemical engineer Antoine Lavoisier who used it to refer to an internal body heat.

A food's calorieis in reality an actual "kilocalorie." In other terms, it's a measure of energy needed to raise the temperature of one Liter of water by one degree. The original method of measuring the calorie amount of food item was measured using a calorimeter. A food item that was known to have calories that was able to have their water content evaporated was placed in a jar surrounded by a known amount of water. The container was sealed, oxygen piped in and the food was ignited. From the rise in temperature of the water and the food, the calorie content of the food was calculated.

There are some problems with this sort process of calorie determination. Foods can be made up of components such as fiber which consume energy in a calorimeter however they do not get absorbed into the bloodstream and are not able to contribute calories. Today, food producers utilize an "Atwater indirect system" to calculate calories by adding the calories provided by the energy-containing nutrients: protein, carbohydrate fat, alcohol and. Since carbohydrates are a source of fiber that isn't processed and used for the benefit of the body the fiber component is usually subtracted from the total carbohydrate before being able to calculate the calories.

The Atwater method uses the average values of 4 Kcal/g for protein, 4 Kcal/g for carbohydrate; 9 Kcal/g fat and 7 Kcal/g of alcohol. They were calculated by burning these compounds in the calorimeter. (There are some rounds, as simple sugars offer less and polysaccharides provide slightly more that 4 Kcal/g). Thus the label on a 45 gram KitKat that has 3 grams of proteinand 29 g in carbohydrate (22 grams, of which 22 grams comprise simple sugars) and 12 grams of fat is 230 Calories.

A few interesting facts emerge from such analyses. It is found that the caloriecontent in doughnuts of around 45 to 450 Kcal is found roughly the same as that of a dynamite stick. It is evident that the energy from the explosive is released instantly after it is it is ignited, whereas the doughnut releases its energy content inside the body much more slowly. You don't get blown up from the doughnut. In fact, not at all.