Sunday 3 February 2013

There are Fewer Calories in Fat Free Frozen Yogurt than in Ice Cream

These days it seems that the world and its mother seem to be counting the calories in every single that is destined for their mouths and stomachs. This means that you will find people checking the calories of any foodstuff added to their trolleys and baskets and you will find the calories amounts listed in menus at restaurants and takeaways. I have seen women arguing about the calories in fat free frozen yogurt, as compared to ice cream and other desserts, as though their very lives depended on the outcome! There is no competition as there are fewer calories in frozen yogurt than in most ice creams.

The energy stored in food is measured in terms of calories. Technically, 1 calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree centigrade. The calorie measure used commonly to discuss the energy content of food is actually a kilocalorie or 1000 real calories. This is the amount of energy required to raise 1 kilogram of water (about 2.2 pounds) 1 degree centigrade. Different foods contain different amounts of energy -- which is why a small piece of chocolate can have many more calories than a similarly sized piece of lettuce. However, since calories are a measure of energy, there cannot be, as some diet books claim, different types of calories. A fat calorie has the same amount of energy as a protein or carbohydrate calorie.

A person's caloric need is determined using a variety of mathematical equations. Age, height, current weight, and desired weight are taken into account. Diet is what you eat. Dieting usually refers to eating fewer calories to lose weight. The amount of calories in a diet refers to how much energy the diet can provide for the body. A well-balanced diet is one that delivers an adequate amount of calories while providing the maximum amount of nutrients. Naturally, different foods provide different amounts of calories. Some foods, such as ice-cream, have many calories; while others, like leafy vegetables, have few.

Healthy Alternative

In general, frozen yogurt can be viewed as a healthy alternative to ice cream — perhaps on par with frozen milk or some sorbets. The enzymatic benefits of yogurt can aid digestion, and some of the additional health benefits of yogurt remain in its sweetened and frozen form. It should not, however, be viewed as a “healthy” food, because it still contains relatively high levels of fat and might have extremely high amounts of sugar.

When it comes to calories frozen yogurt has the edge over other desserts but this is only true to the point that you need to eat the low fat frozen yogurt on its own, without the additional toppings which are so popular and so hard to resist. These are the things which can bump up the calories in frozen yogurt desserts to the extent that it can sometimes be better to have a small piece of your favourite dessert or ice cream.

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