Fat is an important element of the body and it's necessary for our life. Vital organs would not have any protection without it. Fat regulates the temperature of the body in extreme weather conditions. It is an important fuel for the body and it is burned to provide energy and safety mechanism against famine / hunger /malnutrition. We eat three to four times more fat than we need per day. We need a teaspoon of fat per day but in fact we consume 6 to 8 teaspoons.
How can we avoid this? There is a way to measure fat we get from the foods. When you buy food you can find out how much fat is in that food with simple arithmetics. As you already know, the calories contained in the ingredients are:
Fat = 9 calories / gram Protein = 4 calories / gram Carbohydrate = 4 calories / gram
On the label of the product you buy you'll find the weight of all the components (usually per 100ml) and total calories of the product. Follow the following procedure to find a percentage of fat contained in the product.
Grams of fat per serving / quantity usually at 100 x 9 = A
"A" divided by the total calories of the product. In the same way you can find the percentage of carbohydrates and proteins of the product.
Grams of carbohydrate / serving x 4 = B
Grams of protein / serving x 4 = C
Difficult? Not really. See the following example
Milk (Light)
Nutritional information per 100 ml of a ready for consumption milk
Calculation at 100 ml
ENERGY Kj-205,0 Kcal-49,0 CALCIUM g-110,0PROTEIN g-3,2 PHOSPHORUS mg-110,0
CARBOHYDRATES g-4,8 Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12
FAT g-1,8 Net Weight-170g
Thus we have:
Protein: 3.2 x 4 = 12.8 calories from protein
Carbohydrates: 4.8 x 4 = 19.2 calories from carbohydrates
Fat: 1.8 x 9 = 16.2 calories from fat
Divide 16,2 / 49 Kcal (calories on the label) and is approximately 4% (3.3%) fat. This is the actual amount of fat you get from that food.
Carbohydrates: 4.8 x 4 = 19.2 calories from carbohydrates
Fat: 1.8 x 9 = 16.2 calories from fat
Divide 16,2 / 49 Kcal (calories on the label) and is approximately 4% (3.3%) fat. This is the actual amount of fat you get from that food.