What are calories?
The calorie, we talk about it everywhere. Especially in the case of a diet, or fitness, but also during weight stabilization. Weight and calories are very linked: we lose weight thanks to a lower caloric intake, we gain it during a surplus.
What is a calorie?
The calorie is aunit of measurement of energy. Our body needs energy to function, this energy is a calorie. Calories are therefore ourenergy engine.
In terms of health, we often deal withkilocalories, often indicated per 100g of a food.
1 calorie is about 4.18 Joules. The Joule is the international unit of measurement of energy values.
What are calories for?
They are one ofour most basic needs, relating to the need to eat. They are our fuel tokeep our bodies runningthroughout the day. Every day we burn calories through our daily physical activity and we also consume calories while eating.
Today, at the time of diets and well-being, we often tend to believe that a calorie is dangerous, and that it is only there to make us gain a few pounds. But a calorie is much more beneficial than that!
All food is composed of calories, which will be our energy. During a single day, the body will constantly spend this energy that they constitute: by moving, we will, of course, spend them. But our body also needs it greatly, day and night. Indeed, to think, the brain needs it, as well as the heart, lungs, etc.
They serve, quite simply, to provide us withenough energy to make our body and our body function properly. It is for this reason that it is not advisable to eat much less than we need. The body would be undersupplied with energy and could no longer make the same efforts, which could be harmful to health.
Where are they found?
In beverages and foods. A drink or food is an energy source because it contains calories.
Food brings together several large families:
- Carbohydrates (sugar)
- Lipids (fatty acids)
- Proteins (amino acids, proteins, peptides)
However, each of these families does not have the same energy intaketag. Carbohydrates, sugar, provide a large amount of energy, but will have a short action. They will be quickly assimilated by the body and stored if they are not spent quickly. A sweet soda will provide 140 kilocalories, compared to an apple, which contains only about 50. The apple, in terms of energy, will be slower to assimilate than soda.
Among the largest energy intakes, caloric intakes, we have sugars, bad fats and alcohol. This is what we will call rich foods. They are not rich by chance, but because theircaloric intake is enormous .
Caloric intake needs
Caloric needs vary according to many parameters, including age and sex. It is estimated that a woman’s daily calorie requirement is around 1800 kilocalories. For a man, 2000 kilocalories.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.