A food calorie chart is an important tool to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It is an ideal way to analyze what we eat and to seriously consider our intake and usage of calories so as to keep a healthy weight or to prevent starvation. The energy from food is required for mental and physical activities of the body.
A calorie measures the energy stored in food whether it is from fat, protein or carbohydrate. The calorific value of a food is the amount of calories contained in one unit of a substance and is released when burned to our body. We can find out what the calorific value of foods in our diet by looking at values of experiments done to determine this which tabulated in a food calorie chart.
A personal food calorie chart can then be constructed to find out what our estimated intake is per meal and hence per day. It is calories that make us fit or not. Calories in general do not make us fat. It is unused calories that make us unhealthy. This can then be compared with the standard daily consumptions and provide a guide to prevent obesity.
The importance of a food calorie chart
Calories are needed for the body to digest food, to do all activities, and for the body to stay at rest. Counting the calories of food is an important principle for weight watchers and the food calorie chart is an important source of information. The labels of food also contain mini calorie charts which advise buyers on the calorie content. By checking food calorie charts we can decide which food will provide how many calories and this will help to reduce weight,chose the correct food for the right occasion and in general be more informed as to what to eat. Smaller portions of high calorie foods should eaten to do a job with low physical activity. The average calorie need of a body is about 2000 calories but this varies with age, sex, physical activity, height and weight. Extra calories taken in by the body is stored as fat and results in weight gain.
Using a food calorie chart
Food calorie charts usually contain food from different food groups and also show their levels of fats, carbohydrates and proteins. The calorie value is then assigned to a set serving of the particular food. First look for the particular food group and then within that group look for the specific food that you want to know. Once you find this, look across the chart for the amount of calories that it contains per serving. So getting a food calorie chart is an important tool to find out which foods to buy and to eat and in what proportions. Calorie charts may be done by different institutions and be tabulated differently but the values are all the same per serving and the nutritional content is standard.
