The lowdown on Fruits - Fun Fact Friday

How is everyone on this Friday night, hope you're all out and about, my Friday night is a quiet night in making this amazing table on the lowdown of fruits!

Just made a quick table using the wonderful information on the NUTTAB database to compare some common fruits on the amount of sugar in each per 100 g and amount of energy in Kilojoules ( keep in mind that you wouldn't necessarily eat 100 g per piece of fruit but great to compare them. Also showed the amount of moisture (or water content) per 100 grams. Which is great to to show to you how you are able to also get water in your diet by eating a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. The fruit with the highest sugar levels in my table was grapes with 16.3 grams, and the fruit with the highest energy (kJ) level was bananas with 385 kJ.

I didn't go too much into the vitamins and minerals, nor did I mention antioxidants etc, as I was more focusing on the sugar levels, and why it is important to stay within 2-3 serves per day. Also in future weeks I will show you how much sugar many fruit juices contain on the market (some can be compared to soft drink!!) and why you should not seek to get your serves of fruit from juices instead of the real deal!

Any other fruits you want to know about or any suggestions about what you want to see on my blog, feel free to comment or email nutritiononabudget1@gmail.com

Enjoy your weekend lovely people xxx

The basics of Kilojoules and calories- Fun Fact Friday

Hi Everybody, tonight's post is going to be short and sweet as I have to study for a Food Chemistry Exam! I thought I would share with you some important basics and numbers surrounding the kilojoule.
Kilojoule (kJ) / calorie is a unit of measure of energy. The body requires energy for growth, repair and all the general day-to-day processes conducted within and between the many cells.

1 Calorie = 4.2 Kilojoules (more accurately 4.184)
Handy to know if a package or food label only displays one of the two units. Divide by 4.2 to find out calories (if only kJ is shown) or multiply number of calories by 4.2 to work out kilojoules.

Energy In = Energy Out
For the most part, energy is a balancing act and it is generally said that your energy in (food eaten) should equal your energy out (exercise etc) in order to maintain weight. Although there are external factors that contribute to weight loss or gain that haven't been factored into this equation, it is a simple guideline that at the very least gets you thinking about whether your own energy intake is greater or less than the amount of exercise you do.

One kg of body fat is equal to around 37,000 kJ, so to lose that one kg of fat you would have to burn off or have a dietary deficit of 37,000kJ or 5,000 kJ a day!!!

Macronutrients (kJ/ gram)

Carbohydrates: 16 kJ/ gram
Protein: 17 kJ/ gram
Alcohol: 29 kJ/ gram
Fat: 37 kJ/ gram

So before you pick up an alcoholic beverage this weekend think of the empty kilojoules that you are putting in your body. Carbohydrate is the body's preferred choice of fuel for muscles and the brain. And with Alcohol and Fat being so energy dense it is important to consume in moderation especially alcohol.

Sources:
Better Health Victoria: Kilojoules
Nutrition Australia: Balancing Energy