Sunday, November 19, 2006
Nutritional and food labels

The "calorie" has become a common household term as dietitians recommend in cases of obesity to reduce body weight by increasing exercise (energy expenditure) and reducing energy intake. Many governments require food manufacturers to label the energy content of their products, to help consumers control their energy intake. In the countries of the European Union, manufacturers of prepackaged food must label the nutritional energy of their products in both kilocalories ("kcal") and kilojoules ("kJ"). In the United States, the equivalent mandatory labels display only "Calories" (meaning kilocalories); an additional kilojoules figure is optional. The energy content of food is usually given on labels for 100 g and for a typical serving size.
The amount of food energy in a particular food could be measured by completely burning the dried food in a bomb calorimeter, a method known as direct calorimetry [1]. However, the values given on food labels are not determined this way, because it overestimates the amount of energy that the human digestive system can extract, by also burning dietary fiber. Instead, standardized chemical tests and an analysis of the recipe are used to estimate the product's digestable constitutents (protein, carbohydrate, fat, etc.). These results are then converted into an equivalent energy value based on a standardized table of energy densities:
food component energy density
kcal/g kJ/g
fat 9 37
ethanol (alcohol) 7 29
proteins 4 17
carbohydrates 4 17
organic acids 3 13
polyols (sugar-free sweeteners) 2.4 10
Other substances found in food (water, non-digestable fibre, minerals, vitamins) do not contribute to this calculated energy density.
As a rough guideline, recommended daily energy intake values for young adults are: 2500 kcal/d (10 MJ/d, 120 W) for men and 2000 kcal/d (8 MJ/d, 100 W) for women. Children, sedentary and older people require less energy, physically active people more.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Burning Calories to Lose Weight
When you burn more calories, you lose weight easier and exercise is a key component to burning calories. This is nothing new, but amazingly very few people find time to do something that's so important to the body. Our modern society emphasizes ease and comfort and we forget that burning calories is natural process of moving around and exerting energy.
Hundreds of years ago, there were no cars, airplanes, elevators or televisions. Office jobs did not exist and burning calories to lose weight came by something as simple as washing clothes because of the physical labor involved. The body was meant for daily exercise. Unfortunately, very few manage to exercise regularly.
Regular exercise is great for burning calories and will make your body more efficient at burning fat. As a result, your daily metabolism will be significantly higher.
The good news is that exercise does not have to be strenuous to lose weight. A brisk walk for 30 minutes or more is one of the best exercise for burning calories. If you have young kids and leaving the house is a problem, consider riding a stationary bike. Swimming and stationary biking are great for people who suffer from chronic back or joint pain because it exerts the least amount of pressure on the back and joints.
There are other exercises for burning calories such as aerobic dancing to your favorite video or playing sports. Swimming is an excellent way for conditioning and burning calories. Have you ever seen an amateur or professional swimmer with an ounce of body fat?
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?
The #1 complaint we get concerning exercise is time! How do we find time to exercise?
THIS YOU MUST UNDERSTAND
Regular exercise is a way to help you lose weight and keep it off. It's not an overnight process. It takes months before you see results.
Exercise must become a priority in our life. You should commit 30 minutes per day, 4 times a week.
Exercise should not be strenuous. If it is, you won't do it!
Exercise must become a priority in our life. You should commit 30 minutes per day, 4 times a week.
Exercise should not be strenuous. If it is, you won't do it!
Exercise heals the mind and body. Regular exercise will make you FEEL BETTER physically and emotionally and of course, it great for burning calories.
THIS YOU MUST DO
Schedule regular time to exercise in the morning or during your lunch break. The best time is after waking up. An early morning routine keeps the hectic pace of life from burning away your time. Another good time saver is to walk 3 to 4 times a week during your lunch break with a friend.
Find ways to make it fun. If you use the stationary bike then ride while watching your favorite television program. Try an amusing aerobic exercise video. Enlist your neighbor or spouse to take daily walks. Take the dog for a regular Ѕ hour walk. Once your dog gets in the habit of walking with you, they beg for that special time to spend with you.
Consider alternating your exercise routine with walking twice a week, stationary bike riding once a week and aerobic dance video once a week. This gives you different ways to exercise, which is the key to burning calories. Try to SCHEDULE YOUR TIME IN ADVANCE, preferably in the morning.