SNACKS AND CALORIES

In the March edition of the Nutrition Action Healthletter there was an article on how much exercise a 150 pound person needs to do in order to burn off the calories in some of the popular snacks consumed.  I knew some of this information already but it is always an eye opener when you start to see a variety of snacks and exercises required to burn a certain number of calories.  Knowing this information may stop us from eating these high caloric snacks.  I would like to provide several examples.

(1) NY Fries, regular size (200 grams) has 580 calories.   You would need to play doubles tennis for one hour and 5 minutes.

(2) Starbucks cinnamon dolce latte with whipped cream, venti size (20 ounces) has 410 calories.  To burn these calories, you need to jog for 50 minutes.

(3) Buttersalt popcorn from Kernels, small size which is 9 cups, has 410 calories.  You need to do one hour and 15 minutes of low impact aerobics to burn these calories.

(4) Tim Hortons apple fritter has 300 calories.  You need to walk briskly for one hour.

(5) Tim Hortons raisin bran muffin has 410 calories.  To burn these calories would require strength training of one hour and 45 minutes ( 8 to 15 reps per exercise).

(6) Starbucks banana loaf has 430 calories.  You would need to swim laps for one hour and 5 minutes to burn these calories.

This March edition had a wonderful article on food volumetrics and calorie density of foods.  Calorie density is a predictor of weigh loss and maintenance.  People can cut calorie density in their food by reducing fat, sugar and refined grains and adding more vegetables and fruits to their diets.  The professor and author Barbara Rolls was interviewed for this article.  She has written a number of books on volumetrics.

The January/February 2010 edition of Nutrition Action Healthletter had an article on sugar overload.  Added sugars (eg. glucose, fructose, table sugar, honey, agave syrup, corn syrup) raises the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and gout.  One teaspoon of sugar has 16 calories.  The average women should get no more than 100 calories, about 6.5 teaspoons, of added sugar a day and the average man should get no more than 150 calories, about 9.5 teaspoons, of added sugar a day according to the American Heart Association.  Just by consuming a can of coke, you will have exceeded your sugar intake for the day as it has 10.5 teaspoons of added sugar.  To convert teaspoons of sugar to grams of sugar, multiply by four.

To illustrate some of the added sugar to food that we consume, I provide the following examples:

-Tim Hortons, chocolate chip muffin has 10 teaspoons of added sugar
-Tim Hortons wheat carrot muffin has 6.5 teaspoons of added sugar
-Tim Hortons French Vanilla Cappuccino, medium size, has 8 teaspoons of added sugar
-Kashi Go Lean Crunch, 1 cup, has 4 teaspoons of added sugar
-Hershey's Special 50% Cacao Dark Chocolate, 1/2 bar (50 grams) has 6 teaspoons of added sugar
-Starbucks cinnamon dolce latte, grande size (16 ozs) has 5 teaspoons of added sugar
-Starbucks caramel macchiato, grande size (16 ozs) has 4 teaspoons of added sugar
-Starbucks pumpkin scone has 5 teaspoons of added sugar
-Dairy Queen Caramel Sundae, medium size, has 13 teaspoons of added sugar
-Dairy Queen Oreo Cookies Blizzard, medium size, has 18 teaspoons of added sugar
-Yogurt, 100 grams, low fat with fruit, has 3 teaspoons of added sugar
-Chapman's Orange Sherbet, 1/2 cup, has 5 teaspoons of added sugar
-Heinz Maple Style Beans in sauce, 1 cup, has 6 teaspoons of added sugar

I hope this information that I have provided in this blog post will help you in making choices when deliberating on eating a higher calorie or sugar snack.