One of the keys to maintaining good health is to maintain a healthy diet rich in vitamins and minerals necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the body and the mind. However, within the wide variety of foods available to us, it is easy to fall into the temptation of eating more of the fattening foods than of those that are healthier and less rich in calories.
img
Appetizing and very tasty are some of the adjectives that define fast food: hamburgers, pizzas, precooked food, chips ... are just some of the "delights" whose consumption provides a greater source of unhealthy calories.
Worst of all, this type of food just provide healthy nutrients for the body such as vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, they are loaded with trans fats, refined flours, processed meat and toxins that, in short, only contribute accumulations of bad fat for health.
To have an idea about the number of calories that this type of food brings, we can observe:
- Medium bag of chips: 400 calories
- Hot dog: 350 calories
- Hamburger with cheese: 350 calories
- One slice of pizza: 180 calories
This type of food should be restricted to the maximum, especially in the case of those people with problems of overweight, high cholesterol or hypertension.
Fried foods are another type of food that gives more calories to the daily diet. The number of calories is increased precisely by the way they are cooked rather than by the food itself. This is because when frying in oil, the food absorbs approximately 10% of its weight only in fat. This percentage increases when we introduce the food in the still cold oil.
Another problem that comes with frying food is that the misuse of oil can generate trans fat. Thus, we must vitar reuse more than three times in a row the same oil, and avoid putting it to more than 180 ° C temperature. In the same way we should place the food once fried on an absorbent paper to eliminate as much fat as possible.
Let's see some examples of calorie intake that involves eating fried foods:
- Fried chicken drumstick: 230 calories
- Potato chips (300 grams): 825 calories
- Onion rings (8 units): 276 calories
Chocolate is one of the most desired foods that few people resist. However, within the wide range of flavors that chocolate offers us, white chocolate is one of the most calorie additives since it is not really made with pure cocoa but for its manufacture cocoa butter is used together with milk and sugar.
Keep in mind that 100 grams of white chocolate contributes nothing more and nothing less than a total of 566 calories.
If you are a chocolate lover you should know that the least fattening is the bitter chocolate since it is made up of a minimum of 50% cocoa. This means that it has a minimum percentage of fats and sugars.
The sausages are pieces of minced and processed meat that has been seasoned with spices and that is introduced in skin of casings. Within this variety of meat we find the chorizo, the sausage, the loin ...
The sausages have a high percentage of fat, although this amount will be determined by the type of sausage and the process that has been followed. Thus we have that the sausages with the lowest caloric intake are cooked ham, chicken or turkey, whose contribution is limited to 250 calories per 100 grams.
At the other end we have the most caloric sausages such as sausage or salami. The caloric intake per 100 grams is between 350 and 550 calories. Do not forget that this type of meat has more than 40% saturated fatty acids, in addition to additives, salt and preservatives.
The sausage intake should be limited to the maximum, preferably choosing another type of grilled meat.
The intake of ice cream shoots up. And it is that its sweet flavor, the variety that it offers us and the refreshing sensation that it contributes make it one of the star foods to combat the heat. However we must know that ice cream is one of the foods with more calories than there are.
The number of calories will always depend on the type of ice cream that we are going to consume as well as the quantity. It is not the same eating an ice lolly as a cone with balls of ice cream prepared with cream.
Ice creams can have around 100 calories per ice cream, while those with a dairy base can have around 250 calories per ice cream.
The industrial pastry is appetizing and above all very sweet, but behind its attractive appearance and spectacular taste are hidden ingredients and fats that make it a type of hypercaloric food.
A base elaboration of industrial pastries usually consists of refined flours, as well as an important amount of butter and rasa that give the pastries a tender, bright and fluffy appearance.
Some examples of the calories that certain industrial bakery products provide are:
- Donut: 340 calories
- Chocolate palm tree: 550 calories
- Neapolitan chocolate: 400 calories
It is preferable to eat homemade pastries, since this way we can opt for less caloric ingredients for its preparation.
Nuts are one of the healthiest foods that nature offers us. In its many varieties we will find a multitude of properties that make them excellent allies for health. The nuts are composed mainly of fiber, vitamins and minerals, plant sterols and also fats although the latter are healthy.
In any case we can not forget that they are fruits with an important percentage of calories, so it is convenient to take it into account in the case of those people who follow a diet to lose weight.
An approximation of calories depending on the type of nut would be the following (per 100 grams):
- Macadamia nuts: 718 calories
- Hazelnuts: 646 calories
- Almonds: 579 calories
- Pistachios: 562 calories
- Cashews: 553 calories
The pasta is known to be a very healthy and nutritious food with a significant percentage of B vitamins, as well as proteins and carbohydrates. Although it is not a food that provides an excess of calories (around 350 calories per 100 grams), this contribution can be significantly increased when the pasta is seasoned with tomato, cream or cheese sauces.
Thus, if we add a cream sauce we would be consuming a plate of 100 grams around 420 calories, with 460 calories Bolognese sauce and a cream sauce and blue cheese around 550 calories.
Following a balanced diet without exceeding calories is a good way to maintain the right weight. However, we should not make the mistake of making a minimum intake of calories, as a low intake of these can trigger important cardiovascular problems.
