We spend ages counting them. Sometimes we obsess about them. But what even is a calorie and how many of them do we really need?
That’s the question that the latest Ted-Ed video by Emma Bryce sets out to answer and it’s pretty enlightening.
First up, Emma explains a calorie is ‘a way of keeping track of the body’s energy budget.’ If you consume too many (because doughnuts) and don’t burn it off (damn you Netflix), then you’ll put on weight.
Yep, we know. You’ve heard it all before.
But what is a calorie actually? What does it signify? They explain that too – it’s ‘the amount of energy it would take to raise the temperature of 1kg of water by 1°C.
‘Everything we consume has a calorie count – a measure of how much energy the item stores in its chemical bonds,’ the explainer… Read the full story