Foods 2030 Lessons

Healthy Eating

ENERGY INTAKE

A calorie/kilojoule is a measure of the amount of potential energy contained in food. [Kilojoule (kJ) is the metric unit which replaces Calorie (kcal) and 4.184 kJ = 1 kcal]. The parts of your diet that your body can derive energy from are protein (4 kcal/17kJ), fat (9 kcal/37kJ), carbohydrate (4 kcal/17kJ) and alcohol (7 kcal/29kL) per gram. All have other functions in the body, except alcohol. Carbohydrate is the most efficient source of energy and protein is the least. These nutrients are found throughout the food groups and following the guidelines for Canada’s Food Guide will ensure the correct proportion of each will be available to your body.

It is recommended that of your total food intake approximately:

20% of the calories should come from protein,
less than 30% from fat and
50-55% from carbohydrate.

For example, if Judy consumes about 2200 Calories per day:

440 Calories (20% of 2200) should be from protein, less than 600 Calories (30% of 2200) from fat and 1100 - 1210 Calories (50-55% of 2200) from carbohydrate. This translates to 110g of protein, less than 66g of fat and 275 - 302g of carbohydrate.

Jake calculated that in his diet he had 150g protein, 117g of fat and 300g carbohydrate. Do Jake’s figures fit the recommendations above?

	grams	Convert g to kcal	Calories	Total Calories	Jake’s % of total	Recommendations
protein	150	x 4	600		25	20
fat	117	x 9	1050	3000	35	>30
carbohydrate	300	x 4	1200		40	50-55

No. Jake should eat less protein and fat and more carbohydrate. To help Jake meet the recommendations you would do a 3 day food record to determine his selection of food groups. Probably he would need to select more Vegetables, Fruits and Grain Products (carbohydrate) and less Meat, Alternates and Milk Products (fat and protein).

APPROXIMATE DAILY RECOMMENDED CALORIE INTAKE

AGE	GENDER	RECOMMENDED NUMBER OF CALORIES FOR NORMAL ACTIVITY
11 - 12 years	MALE FEMALE	2800 2400
13 - 15 years	MALE FEMALE	2800 2200
16 - 18 years	MALE	3200
	FEMALE	2100
19 - 35 years	MALE	3000
	FEMALE	2100
36-50 years	MALE	2700
	FEMALE	1900

FUNCTIONS OF MAIN NUTRIENTS

Nutrient	Milk Products	Grain Products	Vegetables & Fruits	Meat & Alternates	Function
Carbohydrate		√	√		supplies energy assists in the utilization of fats
Fat	√			√	supplies energy aids in the absorption of fat soluble vitamins
Protein	√	√		√	builds and repairs body tissues builds antibodies, the blood components which fight infection
Vitamin A	√		√	√	aids in normal bone and tooth development promotes good night vision maintains the health of the skin and membranes
Thiamine		√	√	√	releases energy from carbohydrate aids in normal growth and appetite
Riboflavin	√	√		√	maintains healthy skin and eyes maintains a normal nervous system releases energy to body cells during metabolism
Niacin		√		√	aids normal growth and development maintains a normal nervous system and gastrointestinal tract
Folic Acid			√	√	aids red blood cell formation
Vitamin B₁₂	√			√	aids in red blood cell formation maintains healthy nerve and gastrointestinal tissues
Vitamin C			√		maintains healthy teeth and gums maintains strong blood vessel walls
Vitamin D	√				enhances calcium and phosphorus utilization in the formation and maintenance of healthy bones and teeth
Calcium	√				aids in the formation and maintenance of strong bones and teeth promotes healthy nerve function and normal blood clotting
Iron		√	√	√	combines with protein to form hemoglobin, the red blood cell constituent which transports oxygen and carbon dioxide
Fibre		√	√		provides indigestible bulk which encourages the normal elimination of body wastes