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| health organization recommends the same ratio of fat, protein, and carbohydrates, the formula that's been found to provide your body with a balanced daily dose of energy and nutrients. |
| Unless you have a disease or other ailment that requires a different balance of nutrients, you will benefit most by learning about the healthiest fat, protein, and carbohydrate choices, not by seeking some new dietary formula. |
| SMART DEFINITION |
| Calorie |
| A unit of energy contained in food. Four components in food provide calories: |
| fatprovides 9 calories per gram proteinprovides 4 calories per gram carbohydrateprovides 4 calories per gram alcoholprovides 7 calories per gram |
| Fat The Maligned Nutrient |
| Fat is the most concentrated form of energy you can consume. It provides more than twice as many calories per gram than protein or carbohydrates. |
| Although you don't need much fat in your diet, you do need some. Besides giving you energy, fat supplies essential fatty acids and enables your body to store the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Thanks to those essential fatty acids, your hair and skin don't dry out, you sleep at night, and a healthy mood is maintained. |
| The Trouble with Fat |
| Amidst the barrage of health advice, the message that's come through loudest and clearest is that fat is bad for you. It makes you gain weight, it causes all sorts of diseases, and it is to be shunned. No wonder that in survey after survey, consumers consistently rate fat their top nutrition concern. |
| But like so much popular nutritional "wisdom," that's a vast simplification of a complex topic. You have already learned about the good things fat does for your body. And while fat's bad rap is grounded in fact, a lot of fat-related health hazards |
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