eugenez@azure.UUCP (10/06/84)
[100% U.S. RDA for the Line Eater] ***************************** * * * Nutrition Puzzle Solved * * * ***************************** Have you ever wondered about the relationship between that nutritional information on the back of so many food containers? The protein, carbohydrates, fat, and alcohol??? Try an experiment---for one serving of the particular food or drink, look on the back of some box or bottle (like catsup). 1) Multiply the number of grams of protein by 4 2) Multiply the number of grams of carbohydrates by 4 3) Multiply the number of grams of alcohol by 7 4) Multiply the number of grams of FAT by 9 5) Now add those numbers (1-4) together. This is how the number for Calories is gotten!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Notice how close your calculation is to what the label claims (on your food container). They round it off though. This is because the experts claim that: 1) protein supplies 4 Calories/GRAM, 2) carbohydrates supplies 4 Calories/GRAM, 3) alcohol supplies 7 Calories/GRAM, and 4) FAT supplies 9 Calories/GRAM. Now this is all obtained by burning food in a Calorimeter. But it does supply some insight, even though somewhat in error. Notice that FAT DOES indeed fuel your body for energy requirements---and that it supplies OVER TWICE as much BODY FUEL per GRAM than CARBOHYDRATES DO!! So WATCH the FAT!!!! Looks like FAT makes FAT faster than carbohydrates!!!! So it is somewhat inaccurate to say that Calories don't count. (As those who only count carbohydrates believe). But it is also WRONG to say that they DICTATE the WHOLE story. As an example, suppose you take two different foods that have the same number of Calories per 1 ounce serving. Now, suppose a one ounce serving of one food contains 4 Grams of Protein and 2 grams of Carbohydrates whereas a 1 ounce serving of the other food may contains 1.5 grams Carbohydrates and 2 grams of FAT. Both foods supply 24 Calories per ounce, but if you ate a lot of the food with protein and worked out, you would gain muscle mass, whereas if you ate a lot of the food with FAT, unless you really burned off all the calories, you would gain FAT mass. This is a crude example, but the point here is that Calories does not tell you what form your Calories are in. If the major contribution to the total Caloric intake is FAT, you will have a hard time losing weight (if that is your goal). You get the point. All this information is based on burning food in a Calorimeter. The experts could be somewhat wrong to believe the body behaves exactly as a Calorimeter. After all, isn't protein really meant to build and maintain the body? That is, when the amino acids pass into the circulation they are used to reconstruct more than 1,600 different kinds of protein that make up muscle tissues, hormones, enzymes, etc. Why would the body use amino acids as fuel? Except if forced to? ECZ
nemo@rochester.UUCP (Wolfe) (10/17/84)
> Both foods supply 24 Calories per ounce, but if you ate a > lot of the food with protein and worked out, you would gain > muscle mass, whereas if you ate a lot of the food with FAT, > unless you really burned off all the calories, you would gain > FAT mass. This is a crude example, but the point here > is that Calories does not tell you what form your Calories are > in. If the major contribution to the total Caloric intake is > FAT, you will have a hard time losing weight (if that is your > goal). You get the point. > > After all, isn't protein really > meant to build and maintain the body? Teleology? > > That is, when the amino acids pass into the circulation they > are used to reconstruct more than 1,600 different kinds of > protein that make up muscle tissues, hormones, enzymes, etc. > Why would the body use amino acids as fuel? Except if forced > to? > > ECZ The body requires only a small amount of protein to fulfill its amino acid needs. The remainder is routinely burned as fuel. Amino acids are not stored by the body. As long as your diet is not strictly fat and carbohydrates, which would require some amount of planning to pull off, you are very likely to be obtaining sufficient amounts of protien for normal bodily needs. You are correct in questioning the model of the body as a calorimeter, since not all of the energy in the food is used up before it is egested. Fiber in the diet helps keep food moving on through, as well as cleaning up the intestinal walls, and fewer calories are absorbed. Nemo