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Calories
Proteins on the other hand tend to be somewhat more satisfying. Proteins when broken down by the digestive system are reduced to amino acids before they can be utilized by the body. This process of mastication, digestion and utilization requires significant energy, about 30% of the proteins caloric value. This energy is released as heat called the thermic effect.
A team of researchers from the UK are recommending that labels on foods include the amount of exercise required to burn it off. The terminology used is, “activity-equivalent calorie labeling.” Shirley Cramer (chief executive for the Royal Society for Public Health in London) has recently commented on the subject in the British Medical Journal. Calling labels too confusing for most people, she recommends a graphic that would illustrate how much activity you would need to burn off the calories you would consume from the product. The obvious goal would be to encourage healthier choices as a way to combat obesity which continues to grow.
According to government sources the average American consumes 37% of their calories in the form of fat, considering the American Heart Association recommends no more than 30% we have some way to go. Take into consideration however, the different types of dietary fat, there is saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and trans fat. Not all these fats should be viewed with the same disdain.
