Calories And Measurements

Calories And Measurements

In today's article I am going to explain calorie chart, calorie sources, Unit and unit conversion. Many found this term often confusing and sometimes even good chefs seems to have problem/confusion on this. It is very vital to understand basic unit, calories chart, source and measurement as you need to deal with hundreds of recipes and thousands of customers each day. Moreover, customer now days seem to be more health conscious and knowing only to cook is also not going to sustain your business.

Firstly, lets consider what would happen if you had most of your daily calories coming from carbohydrate and very little of them coming from protein or fat like Indian vegetarians?

The more emphasis on carbohydrate is going to have a massive impact on your blood glucose level. If most of your calories in food are coming from carbohydrates it will still result in massive fluctuations in your blood glucose level.

This would induce insulin secretion, which would then cause much of the carbohydrate to be stored in the body. Some would be stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver but once those two storage are full the rest would be stored as body fat.

Plus, the high level of insulin would stop the body from mobilising and utilising fat as a fuel sources so, fat burning would stop.

Similarly, If the calories in food were mainly from protein, the blood amino acid level would increase, which would induce secretion of glucagon. This would cause the mobilisation of glucose from the glycogen (stored carbohydrate) in the liver, which would help to maintain the blood glucose level.

Moreover, If the calories in food were mainly from fat, the blood levels of fatty acids would increase. This would have no impact on the insulin/ glucagon level but the high levels of free fatty acids would still cause fat storage in the body.

The low blood glucose and blood amino acids levels would mean a loss of glycogen (and water) in the body as well as a loss of lean muscle, which would have a negative impact on the body's metabolism.

For best results, the ideal macronutrient ratio would be one that emphasises slightly more protein, a little less carbohydrate and then even less fat. The macronutrient profile would be;

30-40% of calories from carbohydrate

30-50% of calories from protein

20-30% of calories from fat

Let's talk about calories in various diets,

1. Beverage

Beer (350 ml) = 150 calories

Coke (200 ml) = 90 calorie

Wine ( 100 ml) = 85 calorie

Vodka ( 30 ml) = 64 calorie

Whiskey (30 ml) = 70 calorie

Gin (30 ml) = 70 calorie

Rum (30 ml) = 70 calorie

Soda (250 ml) = 105 calorie

Margarita = 550 calorie

Long Island ice tea = 780 calorie

White Russian = 500 calorie

Pina colada = 640 calorie

Martini = 120 calories

Fruit smoothies ( 250 ml) = 135 calories

White sweet wine (250 ml) = 250 calories

Fruit juice ( 200 ml) = 105 calories

2. Food

Cooked rice (25 gram) = 80 calories

Mix vegetables (75 gram) = 40 calories

Lentil (50 gram) = 60 calories.

Mutton (30 gram) = 75 calories

Fish (50 gram) = 55 calories

Eggs ( 2 nos.) = 100 calories

Masala dosa (medium) = 250 calories

Samosa ( 1 piece) = 140 calories

Cake chocolate ( 50 gram) = 225 calories

Chicken curry ( 100 gram) = 225 calories

Veg curry ( 100 gram) = 130 calories

Fried rice ( 100 gram) = 150 calories

Carrot Haluwa ( 100 gram) = 600 calories

Jalebi ( 20 gram) = 100 calories

Cow Milk ( 90 ml) = 50 calories

Milk Buffalo ( 45 ml) = 50 calories

Cheese ( 15 gram) = 50 calories

Butter ( 15 gram) = 50 calories

Ghee ( 15 gram) = 50 calories

Rice pudding ( 100 gram) = 180 calories

Bread ( 1 slices) = 65 calories

Yellow mustard ( 10 gram) = 6 calories

Pork (100 gram) = 240 calories

3. Fruits

Apple( 1 medium) = 50-60 calories

Banana ( 100 gram) = 89 calories

Grapes ( 100 gram) = 67 calories

Mangoes ( 100 gram) = 60 calories

Dragon Fruit (100 gram) = 60 calories

Orange ( 100 gram) = 47 calories

Measurements

1 tablespoon = 15 gram

1 teaspoon = 5 gram

1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoon

1 cup = 48 teaspoon

1 cup = 16 tablespoons

1/2 cup = 8 tablespoon

2/3 cup = 10 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon

3/4 cup = 12 Tablespoon

1/4 cup = 4 Tablespoon

1/8 cup = 2 Tablespoon

1 pint = 2 cup

16 ounce = 1 pound

1 ounce = 28.35 gram

1 pound = 453.59 gram

1 cup( U.K )= 250 gram

A dash = a pinch

Remember, With every bite of food we take, we consume calories in the form of proteins, carbohydrates, fats. Foods with high saturated fats, trans fats, added sugars and cholesterol can be bad calories which can lead to a higher risk for heart disease or diabetes. Here's an example of foods containing a high level of solid fats and added sugars :