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Calorie content of food.

The value of food consumption for the body lies in the amount of energy released during digestion, which the body can spend on its own needs. The energy value of the product (or the calorie content of the food) differs depending on whether the product has been thermally processed (fried, cooked, or steamed) prior to consumption or eaten raw.

The time period of thermal processing of food products also affects their nutritional value. This should be taken into account when studying food calorie tables for choosing a diet. Typically, tables provide information on the calorie content of raw foods or the calorie content of these foods based on their dry matter. According to the same principle, products in the package are labeled according to their calorie content.

The kilocalories (kcal) or calories (abbreviated), in which the energy value of a food is measured, is not always the same amount that the body uses when it digests the food. Some of the components of the product are not assimilated by the body and removed from it, some are deposited in various tissues and organs and are consumed exclusively as needed. And a person is not able to control this need himself: stocks and consumption of components occurs regardless of the person's desire. These features of the assimilation of food must be taken into account if it is necessary to independently calculate the calorie content of dishes. So one gram of protein = 4.1 Kcal, one gram of carbohydrates = 4.1 Kcal and one gram of fat = 9.3 Kcal does not mean that the body, having processed these three grams, will absorb all 17.5 kcal.

In order to roughly imagine what the body will assimilate, it is necessary to know the amount of components in the product that cannot be processed. And this is quite difficult to calculate without special knowledge in the field of chemistry, biology, biochemistry, etc. Therefore, there is no need to spend time on such complex calculations, you just need to learn how to combine proteins, fats and carbohydrates in such proportions that will have the most favorable effect on the health and normal functioning of all functional systems of the body.

The daily intake of calories does not mean that a sufficient amount of protein, carbohydrates and fats will enter the body, therefore, in addition to the conditional calculation of calories, it makes sense to take into account which foods are included in the diet and to what extent they are rich in fats, proteins and carbohydrates.