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Fat has a food energy content of 38 kilojoules per gram (9 kilocalories per gram) proteins and carbohydrates 17 kJ/g (4 kcal/g). [2] Water makes up a large proportion of the total mass ingested as part of a normal diet but it does not provide any nutritional value.
The unit is most commonly used to express food energy, namely the specific energy (energy per mass) of metabolizing different types of food. For example, fat (triglyceride lipids) contains 9 kilocalories per gram (kcal/g), while carbohydrates (sugar and starch) and protein contain approximately 4 kcal/g. [29] Alcohol in food contains 7 kcal/g. [30]
For example, the values for glucose, sucrose, and starch are 15.57, 16.48 and 17.48 kilojoules per gram (3.72, 3.94 and 4.18 kcal/g) respectively. The differing energy density of foods (fat, alcohols, carbohydrates and proteins) lies mainly in their varying proportions of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.
The energy yield from a gram of fatty acids is approximately 9 kcal (37 kJ), much higher than the 4 kcal (17 kJ) for carbohydrates. Since the hydrocarbon portion of fatty acids is hydrophobic , these molecules can be stored in a relatively anhydrous (water-free) environment.
Since lipids are hydrophobic molecules, they need to be solubilized before their metabolism can begin. Lipid metabolism often begins with hydrolysis, [7] which occurs with the help of various enzymes in the digestive system. [2] Lipid metabolism also occurs in plants, though the processes differ in some ways when compared to animals. [8]
The physiological caloric value of glucose, depending on the source, is 16.2 kilojoules per gram [106] or 15.7 kJ/g (3.74 kcal/g). [107] The high availability of carbohydrates from plant biomass has led to a variety of methods during evolution, especially in microorganisms, to utilize glucose for energy and carbon storage.
Plant thylakoid membranes have the largest lipid component of a non-bilayer forming monogalactosyl diglyceride (MGDG), and little phospholipids; despite this unique lipid composition, chloroplast thylakoid membranes have been shown to contain a dynamic lipid-bilayer matrix as revealed by magnetic resonance and electron microscope studies. [59]
Based on the work of Atwater, it became common practice to calculate energy content of foods using 4 kcal/g for carbohydrates and proteins and 9 kcal/g for lipids. [2] The system was later improved by Annabel Merrill and Bernice Watt of the USDA, who derived a system whereby specific calorie conversion factors for different foods were proposed. [3]