Sol Manuel Garza
Charlene Parsons
Chemistry
4/16/2015
Everything You Know about Calories is Wrong Summary
In Rob Dunn’s persuasive article, Everything You Know About Calories is Wrong, he explains that the way we calculate the energy the body derives from consuming calories is wrong. This means that you are reading an inaccurate calorie count on food labels. Dunn says that the 19th century model of determining caloric value, which is still used today, is far too simplistic. He asserts that, because there are so many factors that contribute to the calories gained from any piece of food, it is practically impossible to “derive a formula for an infallible calorie count.” (Dunn, p.58)
Dunn claims that, Wilbur Olin Atwater 19th century model is inaccurate because no food is average. The fat, carbohydrates and lipids in food are digested in different ways depending on what kind of food is consumed, how it is prepared and how an individual’s body deals with it. Dunn points to a study by Janet A. Novotny which discovered people only get 129 calories from a bag of almonds that claims to give 170 calories.
In addition, Dunn claims that calorie counts do not take into account that cooking or heating food makes it easier for the body to extract calories. A study conducted by Rachel N. Carmody found that mice fed cooked and pounded potatoes gained weight but mice read raw and whole potatoes lost weight. (Dunn, p.59)
Next, Dunn claims that the amount of calories an individual absorbs is affected by the 2 main types of bacteria in the stomach, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Firmicutes, make it easier for people to absorb extra calories as fat, rather than excrete extra calories where Bacteroidetes do the opposite.
Dunn concludes the Atwater labeling system should be modified not only to account for the special properties of some foods such as nuts but also how the food is processed. Dunn admits that even a revamped labeling system would not be perfect because it could not calculate the number of calories absorbed through the interaction between every individual and the food. Dunn suggests that, to stay healthy an individual should eat more raw and whole foods that make the body work for the calories.
Post Reading Questions
Before reading this article, I did not know that the current process for measuring caloric value of food is oversimplified and innacurate. I thought that fat, protein and carbohydrates always gave the same amount of calories. I was very surprised that cooking or heating food changed the amount of readily available calories from a portion of food. I was surprised to learn that it is easier for the body to extract more calories from a piece of processed meat than from a piece of raw meat.
I think that I will still use the calorie description on food labels but will not trust them as much. I think that it is better to know at least an estimate of how much caloric value a food product has, even if it is not 100% accurate. However, I will now assume that processed foods have more calories than it says on the label and that whole and raw foods have less calories than it says on the label.
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Charlene Parsons
Chemistry
4/16/2015
Everything You Know about Calories is Wrong Summary
In Rob Dunn’s persuasive article, Everything You Know About Calories is Wrong, he explains that the way we calculate the energy the body derives from consuming calories is wrong. This means that you are reading an inaccurate calorie count on food labels. Dunn says that the 19th century model of determining caloric value, which is still used today, is far too simplistic. He asserts that, because there are so many factors that contribute to the calories gained from any piece of food, it is practically impossible to “derive a formula for an infallible calorie count.” (Dunn, p.58)
Dunn claims that, Wilbur Olin Atwater 19th century model is inaccurate because no food is average. The fat, carbohydrates and lipids in food are digested in different ways depending on what kind of food is consumed, how it is prepared and how an individual’s body deals with it. Dunn points to a study by Janet A. Novotny which discovered people only get 129 calories from a bag of almonds that claims to give 170 calories.
In addition, Dunn claims that calorie counts do not take into account that cooking or heating food makes it easier for the body to extract calories. A study conducted by Rachel N. Carmody found that mice fed cooked and pounded potatoes gained weight but mice read raw and whole potatoes lost weight. (Dunn, p.59)
Next, Dunn claims that the amount of calories an individual absorbs is affected by the 2 main types of bacteria in the stomach, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Firmicutes, make it easier for people to absorb extra calories as fat, rather than excrete extra calories where Bacteroidetes do the opposite.
Dunn concludes the Atwater labeling system should be modified not only to account for the special properties of some foods such as nuts but also how the food is processed. Dunn admits that even a revamped labeling system would not be perfect because it could not calculate the number of calories absorbed through the interaction between every individual and the food. Dunn suggests that, to stay healthy an individual should eat more raw and whole foods that make the body work for the calories.
Post Reading Questions
- What is one thing you learned from the article you didn't already know about calories that you learned from reading the article?
Before reading this article, I did not know that the current process for measuring caloric value of food is oversimplified and innacurate. I thought that fat, protein and carbohydrates always gave the same amount of calories. I was very surprised that cooking or heating food changed the amount of readily available calories from a portion of food. I was surprised to learn that it is easier for the body to extract more calories from a piece of processed meat than from a piece of raw meat.
- Do you think that you will still use the calorie description on food labels?
I think that I will still use the calorie description on food labels but will not trust them as much. I think that it is better to know at least an estimate of how much caloric value a food product has, even if it is not 100% accurate. However, I will now assume that processed foods have more calories than it says on the label and that whole and raw foods have less calories than it says on the label.
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Sol Manuel Garza
Charlene Parsons
Chemistry
4/15/2015
24 hours: Your Food On the Move Summary
In the article, 24 hours: Your Food on the Move, the author, Brian Rohrig, explains what happens to your food before, during and after you eat it. It chronologically explains all the steps that your body takes to break down and absorb your food and finally excrete the waste.
The article starts with the body’s first step of dealing with food. Surprisingly, this first step occurs before you even taste your meal. Seeing or smelling food causes the body to prepare itself for the food by salivating and preparing the gastric juices in your stomach.
Next, the article talks about the actual ingestion of the food. This part of the article talks about how you chew to break down food and the importance of saliva. Saliva contains digestive enzymes, which are catalysts that help speed up digestion. They do this by converting CO2 and H2O into a bicarbonate ion and a hydrogen ion, which are more soluble in the blood.
After the chewing phase is done, the processed food travel to your stomach and digestion begins. Your stomach muscles churn your processed food into a liquid like substance. At the same time the hydrochloric acid in your stomach mixed with enzymes makes gastric juice which quickly breaks down your food. Mucus protects lines your stomach to prevent it from being dissolved by your own gastric juice. If you have too much gastric juice, it goes up your esophagus and causes heartburn. Antacids, that contain neutralizing agents, such as calcium, can be used to reduce the amount of gastric juice.
After your stomach finishes liquefying your food, it goes to the intestines to be broken down and absorbed by the body. For example, bile in the small intestine breaks fat up into tiny globules that can be easily absorbed into the bloodstream. After passing through the small intestine, food goes into the large intestine where the last few vitamins, such as vitamin B and K, are absorbed and the waste bacteria is excreted.
Charlene Parsons
Chemistry
4/15/2015
24 hours: Your Food On the Move Summary
In the article, 24 hours: Your Food on the Move, the author, Brian Rohrig, explains what happens to your food before, during and after you eat it. It chronologically explains all the steps that your body takes to break down and absorb your food and finally excrete the waste.
The article starts with the body’s first step of dealing with food. Surprisingly, this first step occurs before you even taste your meal. Seeing or smelling food causes the body to prepare itself for the food by salivating and preparing the gastric juices in your stomach.
Next, the article talks about the actual ingestion of the food. This part of the article talks about how you chew to break down food and the importance of saliva. Saliva contains digestive enzymes, which are catalysts that help speed up digestion. They do this by converting CO2 and H2O into a bicarbonate ion and a hydrogen ion, which are more soluble in the blood.
After the chewing phase is done, the processed food travel to your stomach and digestion begins. Your stomach muscles churn your processed food into a liquid like substance. At the same time the hydrochloric acid in your stomach mixed with enzymes makes gastric juice which quickly breaks down your food. Mucus protects lines your stomach to prevent it from being dissolved by your own gastric juice. If you have too much gastric juice, it goes up your esophagus and causes heartburn. Antacids, that contain neutralizing agents, such as calcium, can be used to reduce the amount of gastric juice.
After your stomach finishes liquefying your food, it goes to the intestines to be broken down and absorbed by the body. For example, bile in the small intestine breaks fat up into tiny globules that can be easily absorbed into the bloodstream. After passing through the small intestine, food goes into the large intestine where the last few vitamins, such as vitamin B and K, are absorbed and the waste bacteria is excreted.
Sugar in the Blood Boosts Energy and The Skinny on Sweeteners Questions and Answers
Sol Manuel Garza
Charlene Parsons
Chemistry
4/20/2014
Sugar is a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates, molecules composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are good scorches of fuel for the body because they contain a lot of energy (calories). A special sugar, known as glucose, is needed in order to keep energy moving through the body. In fact, “People need about a teaspoon of glucose every 15 minutes to keep the energy going throughout their bodies.”(Haines, p.1)
Sweeteners are alternatives to sugar (sucrose). Usually, sweeteners are molecules with a similar taste to sucrose but very different molecular arrangements. For example, saccharin, the first artificial sweetener, has a molecular composition that is totally different than sucrose but is much sweeter. Sucrose’s chemical formula is: C6H12O6. Saccharin’s formula is: C6O4SO2CONNa. Additionally, saccharin is not broken down by the body but rather flushed out through urine. Sucralose, another artificial sweetener, has a chemical structure similar to sucrose but is, just like saccharin, flushed out through urine rather than being broken down by the body.
There are 2 main negative effects of consuming sugar: rooting teeth and type 2 diabetes. First, when sucrose is consumed, not only is the person being fed but also the bacteria in their mouth is. When the bacteria eat the sucrose, they produce acid that decays the teeth. Second, eating too much sucrose causes insulin levels to spike. Insulin regulates the amount of sugar in the blood. When there is too much insulin in the body, diabetes occurs.
Sol Manuel Garza
Charlene Parsons
Chemistry
4/20/2014
- Why do you need to consume sugar if over consumption can be harmful to our bodies?
Sugar is a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates, molecules composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are good scorches of fuel for the body because they contain a lot of energy (calories). A special sugar, known as glucose, is needed in order to keep energy moving through the body. In fact, “People need about a teaspoon of glucose every 15 minutes to keep the energy going throughout their bodies.”(Haines, p.1)
- What is glucose? What does glucose become in our bodies (be specific)?
- What are sweeteners?
Sweeteners are alternatives to sugar (sucrose). Usually, sweeteners are molecules with a similar taste to sucrose but very different molecular arrangements. For example, saccharin, the first artificial sweetener, has a molecular composition that is totally different than sucrose but is much sweeter. Sucrose’s chemical formula is: C6H12O6. Saccharin’s formula is: C6O4SO2CONNa. Additionally, saccharin is not broken down by the body but rather flushed out through urine. Sucralose, another artificial sweetener, has a chemical structure similar to sucrose but is, just like saccharin, flushed out through urine rather than being broken down by the body.
- What are the negative effects of consuming sugar?
There are 2 main negative effects of consuming sugar: rooting teeth and type 2 diabetes. First, when sucrose is consumed, not only is the person being fed but also the bacteria in their mouth is. When the bacteria eat the sucrose, they produce acid that decays the teeth. Second, eating too much sucrose causes insulin levels to spike. Insulin regulates the amount of sugar in the blood. When there is too much insulin in the body, diabetes occurs.
- What are the differences between sucrose and sucralose? (Look at geometry and chemistry of each molecule).
- After reading the two articles, which sugar do you think is the best for consumers? Why?