Food Science and Nutrition

In this post & video let’s demystify the Calorie count of cucumbers and also look at some of the nutrients present in them.

Cucumber is a widely grown vegetable crop that is native to Asia. Here is one interesting fact about them. From a botanical standpoint cucumbers are classified as fruits. 

Cucumbers are widely consumed in many parts of the world and the majority of their production is from Asia.

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Butter is a dairy product with a very high calorie count. If we take 100 grams of butter it has about 16 grams of moisture and about 81 grams of fat.

This high level of fat is the reason for the high calorie count of butter. 100 grams of butter contains a whopping 717 Calories of energy (i.e. 3000 kilojoules).

If we look at the energy provided by 1 table spoon of butter (i.e. 14.2 g) it is 102 Calories (426 kJ).

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The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test is a blood glucose test that helps doctors in diagnosing prediabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes.

This test is generally costlier than the basic fasting blood glucose or post meal blood glucose test.

The person who is going to undergo this test should be fasting for at least 8 hours before the first blood glucose reading is taken.

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Steamed or boiled shrimp falls under the low-Calorie foods category. 100 grams of it contains about 78 grams of moisture which reduces the overall calorie count.

Shrimp weighing 100 grams contain about 90 Calories or 376.5 kilojoules of energy. If we look at one large jumbo shrimp weighing 15 grams it contains about 13.5 Calories of energy (56.5 kJ).

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Blueberries fall under the category of low-calorie foods. About 84% of the total weight of these berries is taken up by water.

The major source of calories present in blueberries is carbohydrate. 100 grams of these fruits provide us about 57 Calories or 238 kilojoules of energy.

1 Cup of blueberries weighing 148 grams has 84.3 Calories or 353 kilojoules of energy.

Blueberries contain very little protein and fat.

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Sushi is a Japanese dish made with cooked rice flavored with vinegar. It can also be accompanied by fresh vegetables, egg, and/or raw seafood. Vegetarian varieties of sushi also exist.

More than three fourths of the total weight of sushi is occupied by water. Sushi is a low-calorie dish. 100 grams of it provides about 94 Calories (393 kJ).

1 piece of sushi weighs about 30 grams and it contains about 28.2 Calories (118 kJ).

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As per the United States Department of Agriculture data 1 large baked chicken breast without skin weighing 135 grams contains about 217 Calories or 908 kilojoules of energy.

We can say that baked chicken breast falls under the moderate calorie foods category.

Grilling is also one of the popular ways of consuming chicken breast. 1 large grilled chicken breast without skin provides us about 238 Calories (996 kilojoules) per 135 grams.

The major source of calories in chicken breast is protein. About 40 grams of excellent quality protein is present in chicken breast.

One more interesting fact is that the chicken breast does not contain any amount of carbohydrate at all. Both the baked and the grilled chicken breast varieties are diabetes friendly dishes.

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Chapati is a flatbread made from whole wheat flour also called atta. It is a staple in many south Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

It is also consumed in East Africa, the Middle East and even in the Caribbean.

Chapatis fall under the moderate foods category. 1 Chapati weighing 68 grams provides us 202 Calories or 843 kilojoules of energy.

We made a complete video analyzing the nutrition facts & health benefits of Chapati. I would suggest you watch it to learn more.

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Rice is a carbohydrate rich cereal and should be consumed in moderation especially by people with prediabetes and diabetes. 1 Cup of cooked white rice weighing 186 grams provides us about 242 Calories or 1010 kilojoules of energy.

On the other hand, 1 cup of cooked brown rice weighing 186 grams contains 208 Calories or 870 kilojoules of energy.

Brown rice is definitely superior to white rice from a nutritional perspective. We made a complete video explaining the differences in the nutrition facts of white rice and brown rice. I would suggest you watch it to learn more.

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Spinach contains 2.86% protein. 1 Cup of this green leafy vegetable weighing 30 grams contains about 0.9 grams of protein. Since 91.4% of the total weight of spinach is occupied by water, all the other nutrients are present in smaller amounts.

1 package of 10-ounce spinach weighs 284 grams and it can provide us about 8 grams of protein. We can say that spinach is a poor to moderate source of protein.

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