Nutrition labels aren’t entirely useless—their regulations are surprisingly thorough and they provide basic information about most of the food we eat. Unfortunately, they also legally allow misrepresentation (mostly of serving portions), which the FDA and other regulatory bodies are often unable to validate. The far larger issue is understanding what those numbers and ingredients mean.
Over the course of several weeks, I will build a general nutritional knowledge base. Some bits will be scientific, while others will be more holistic. I will provide specific ways to improve your diet while still eating things you like. I’ll also explain why those methods work.
Here’s some information to build our foundation:
What we consider calories are actually kilocalories, or 1000 calories. One calorie is the amount of energy required to raise 1 gram of water by 1°C. Thus, 1 kilocalorie is the amount of energy required to raise one kilo of water by 1°C. Since a single calorie is quite small, kilocalories [kcal, Calories (uppercase)] are used for measuring energy contained in the food we eat.
Most of what makes up our food can be broken down into three groups: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Each gram of carbohydrate yields roughly 4 Calories, and each gram of fat yields 9 Calories. Proteins actually contain 7 Calories per gram, but because the human body cannot convert all amino acids to usable energy, proteins generally yield about the same 4 Calories that carbohydrates do. It should also be noted that alcohol has 7 Calories per gram.
Some foods are entirely contained by one group. Olive oil, for example, is pure fat. If one were to measure 14.235 grams (approximately 1 tablespoon), it would yield roughly 128.115 Calories, or 14.235 grams olive oil * 9 Calories/gram of fat.
Other foods have different combinations of each. For example, some peas I bought have the following properties per serving:
- 0g fat
- 12g carbs
- 5g protein
- 70 calories total
We can figure out the calories on our own by: (0g * 9Cal/g) + (12g * 4Cal/g) + (5g * 4Cal/g) = 0 Cal + 48 Cal + 20 Cal = 68 Calories, which is rounded up as is allowed by the FDA guidelines.
The balance of these nutrients is also important. It is generally agreed upon that a standard diet should be comprised of roughly:
- 55-70% carbohydrates
- 15-30% fats
- 15-25% proteins
If you eat 65% carbs, 25% fats, then you’d be under your daily protein allotment at 10%. Luckily, these are guidelines. There’s nothing saying you can’t eat more or less of each group. I do often. You will, however, see these figures reflected across many of the world’s cuisines, with some disparity. See for yourself:
- diets around the world (NBC)
- how the menu varies (FAS/USDA)
- the world’s healthiest diets (Oprah)
- diet secrets from around the world (medicinenet.com)
- what the world eats, part I (TIME Magazine)
Variety is also hugely important in diet in order to get other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and enzymes. But that’s another post.
i wish i could take you grocery shopping with me. and have you in my kitchen when i cook. i tend to buy packaged soups (i.e. ramen and thai kitchens and kitchens of india) which are full of preservatives and sodium. i tend to shy away from picking up fresh fruits and veggies coz my roommate is too shy to share with me, so i can’t eat anything fast enough. aaaand, i tend to pick things that are either too ripe, or not ripe enough.
aka, i waste a lot, so i pick things that i cannot waste at all and those things tend to not be very healthy for us.
but something tells me, you have a better handle on these things and are quite useful at the grocery store and in the kitchen.
le sigh.
perhaps i’ll pick it up by way of this awesome blog. because CLEARLY, you know what you’re talking about.
and so … i wait!
Hi Steph! There are numerous ways you can buy fresh foods and keep them for longer. I’ll write a post about it soon! Maybe you’d like to ask a few questions that I can answer to get the ideas flowing.
well, i guess a really good start would be to ask, how ripe, or not ripe, should my fruits and vegetables be? obviously if i’m gonna cook with it right away, ripe is the way to go, but if i’m not going to be able to get to it for a day or two, what should i be looking for?
then, the next question would obviously be, how do i take care of my produce. i have crisper drawers with dials, but i have no idea how to use them.
are there any foods/brands that are non-perishable (soups and so on) but not full of preservatives and sodium? that seems to be impossible and the more i eat them, the more its all i can taste.
i hope that helped. i feel redundant redundant redundant.