Food Labels
How much does it cost?
Where do calories come from?
Basically, calories in a diet come from four different sources: carbohydrates, proteins, alcohol and fat. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are consumed on a daily basis in large quantities. Each one of these macronutrients that supply us with energy, contribute different calories in your diet as follows:
- Carbohydrates provide 4 calories per gram
- Proteins provide 4 calories per gram
- Alcohol provides 7 calories per gram
- Fats provide 9 calories per gram
Lets do the math!!! 1 Tbls of pure carbohydrates (sugar) are equal to 50 calories, where else 1 Tbls of fat is equal to 120 calories.
Carbohydrate based foods:
- Potatoes
- Pasta
- Rice
- Bread
- Pitas
- Cookies
- Cereal
- Anything that contains sugar
- Sweets
Protein based foods:
- Meat
- Chicken
- Fish
- Eggs
- Beans
- Cheese
- Milk
Food Labels:
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- Check the suggested serving size. Information is listed per serving size and not per piece. So, if you eat more than one serving, you have to do the math so that you know how many calories, how many grams of fat and how much sodium you are consuming. For example, if you are having cereal and the label says that the serving size is equal to 250 grams or one cup and you have three cups, then you consume three times as many calories.
- Read the labels of different kind of foods, so as to make the best purchase, as far as calorie cost is concerned. And don’t forget, even though the label of any product says “low fat” or “low sugar” or anything like that, it doesn’t mean that you can eat all of it!!!