In order to live a healthy life, doctors and nutritionists say that a balanced diet and consistent exercise are the two most important factors.
When it comes to eating a healthy, well-balanced diet it is key to know why we need to eat certain foods and how it helps our bodies operate. For example, calories are a vital to making the human body operate every second of everyday, but what are calories?
Calories are found in every type of food we eat. Many people think that calories are the part of the foods we eat that causes obesity. This is not necessarily the case. A calorie is simply energy.
More specifically, a calorie is the unit of measure that it takes to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius.
Calories are what fuel the human body to accomplish simple daily tasks that are essential to life. For example, calories provide the energy for the heart to beat or the lungs to breathe air in and out.
The average adult body requires between 1,000 and 1,400 calories for key organs like the brain and heart to operate. However, where calories earn their negative reputation from consuming too many calories.
If too many calories are consumed, your body will slowly gain weight. It takes about 3,500 additional calories to gain about one pound of fat. Therefore, people who consistently eat more calories than their body needs to operate, weight will slowly be gained and, in many cases, obesity follows.
Calories are essential for basic functions that keep your body running and when properly managed, keep people’s bodies healthy and in shape.