About calories

When we talk about foods, the calorie is a unit of measurement for the energy they supply to the body. On product labels we find information about the energy values, expressed either in kJ (kilojoules) or in kcal (kilocalories; 1 kcal = 1000 cal). When we talk about a food that has, say, 50 calories, their number is in fact 50,000, and it would be correct to say 50 kilocalories. In spoken use, however, it is generally accepted that the word “calorie” replaces the term “kcal”.

According to https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalorie, the calorie is a unit of measurement for thermal energy, or the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one millilitre of distilled water by one degree Celsius under particular conditions of temperature and pressure.

And our body uses energy to keep its temperature constant, and the process of regulating temperature can use up calories from the stored fat that has built up over time. When we are in a colder room, we therefore burn considerably more calories than usual in order to keep our temperature constant. For those who want to speed up weight loss, there are recommendations to eat cold foods, which the body has to make a greater effort to digest and absorb, so that it burns more calories.

Over time, foods have been analysed and classified according to the energy value they supply to the body, and we find information about how calories behave depending on where they come from. But one thing is certain: if we burn as many calories as we supply to the body through food, we will keep our weight. If, on the other hand, that figure differs, we either lose weight or gain it. The difference lies rather in the importance of the nutrients supplied to the body for it to work properly, and in the fact that the storing and burning of calories differs according to where they come from. It is therefore important to know where these calories come from and what role they play in providing the energy the body needs to work well.

The nutritional labelling of products contains information about the calorie content, which can be broken down by the amount of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins or minerals. These are the nutritional components of a food, and each one plays an important role in providing the balance we need for a healthy body and mind. If there is an imbalance between them, our body suffers. For this reason, diets based on completely excluding one of them are not advisable for a healthy body. Even if a protein-based diet leads to rapid weight loss, the negative effects are not to be ignored. A massive reduction in carbohydrates can also seriously harm your health.

Nutrition scientists advise those who want to lose weight and have no health problems to reduce the amount of calories gradually and, depending on age, sex and daily physical activity, to limit themselves to a number of calories a day that allows them to lose half a kilo a week. Otherwise metabolic disorders can occur that can lead to further health problems in the long run. Fasting is likewise a controversial subject, recommended as very effective by some nutrition scientists and disputed by others, who consider it dangerous. The method can only work, however, if we do not eat too much during the rest of the time. In that case the effectiveness of fasting is no longer the same.

The metabolism is responsible for turning calories into energy, and an active metabolism burns calories faster than a slow one. It can be sped up through a healthy diet and daily physical activity.

By eating a balanced diet and avoiding a sedentary way of life, we can achieve a healthy and harmonious body without having to resort to drastic diets, which in the long run not only bring no results but can also make us seriously ill.