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Calories from carbohydrate and sugar

elizavk
elizavk Posts: 1 Member
edited December 2024 in Food and Nutrition
What is the difference between carbohydrate and sugar? If the calories from 1g carbohydrate is 4, what is that from 1g sugar? What is the meaning in saying that an apple has 30g carbohydrate and 16 g sugar?

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,993 Member
    There are several types of carbohydrates, sugar is one of them. All carbohydrates contain 4 kcal per gram, so sugar also contains 4 kcal per gram.

    So your apple contains 30 grams of carbohydrates in total, of which 16 grams are sugar.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,533 Member
    edited January 2020
    A number of people believe that it is advantageous to reduce the amount of non-intrinsic sugars that they consume.

    This is particularly relevant to people who have, or have reason to fear they may end up having, certain medical conditions.

    In many cases, however, the primary aim is to reduce overall caloric consumption which I would view as something that can be more directly accomplished using MFP.

    In the particular example you gave, the sugar listed would be considered intrinsic sugar and most national recommendations would not impose a limit other than to make sure you're not crowding out other important nutrients such as protein and healthy fats.

    You can enjoy our worldwide tax dollars at work by perusing the world's national dietary guidelines for ideas you may want to follow within the context of whatever balance you seek to enjoy!

    http://www.fao.org/nutrition/nutrition-education/food-dietary-guidelines/en/

    <I, personally, only ensure that I get a minimum amount of protein and fiber. I find that I eat enough fats without worrying about it, and I do not keep track of carbs or sugars other than for curiosity. I use the MFP default percentages as rough guidelines. During weight loss I did limit my carbs a little bit more than I do now, so I would say I shifted from 44C 33F 23P during intense weight loss to 52C 27F 21P. Since percentages don't always give the full picture, in moving from loss to maintenance I decreased fat consumption by 5g, increased protein by 5g and increased carbs from 282g to about 380g. Fiber also went up from 35 to 54. approximately. >
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