Shoshi Bicky November 2014
Mrs. Scoparino Science Macromolecules, Calories, and Your Health Part 1

1. A calorie is the amount of energy required to raise one gram of water by one degree.

2. Resting metabolic rate is the energy required by an animal to stay alive with no activity.

3. The average woman needs about 1,500 calories to reach her RMR. The average man needs about 1,700 calories to reach his RMR.

4. People need more calories than what is required to reach our RMR because we are constantly burning calories. Our RMR represents the number of calories we would burn if we were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours. This represents the minimum amount of energy required to keep your body functioning, including your heart beating, lungs breathing, and body temperature normal.

5. Technically all we need to do to lose weight is stay still for 24 hours doing nothing although that’s not possible for most people if not all. Another way that is much more practical is to get a lot of exercise.

6. Protein and carbohydrates both contain 4 calories per gram, while fat provides 9 calories per gram.

7. Simple carbohydrates, such as honey and table sugar, are made out of one or two sugar molecules. Complex carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta, are made out of three or more linked sugars.

8. Refined carbohydrates are plant-based foods that have whole grains extracted during processing.

9. After the carbohydrates are broken down in your body, some of the glucose that isn't needed for energy is stored as glycogen in your liver for later use.

10. A Glycemic Index is a system that ranks foods on a scale from 1 to 100 based on their effect on blood-sugar levels

11. Once we eat a high glycemic food, our blood glucose level rises quickly. This causes the cells in our pancreas to produce insulin in an attempt to lower our blood sugar. The insulin drives the glucose into our cells which is stored as fat.

12. Essential amino acids are amino acids that do not come from our bodies but instead come from food.

13. A person will feel full longer after eating protein because protein-created peptides send signals to our brain that are transmitted back to our gut. Our gut is then stimulated to release glucose, which conceals our desire to eat.

14. Saturated fats contain saturated fatty acids. These have all of the carbon atoms linked by single bonds, and so are "saturated" with respect to the amount of