What is the unit of energy provided by food?

Study for the Nutrition Health Test. Delve into comprehensive nutrition knowledge with interactive questions, detailed explanations, and useful hints. Prepare effectively for your exam!

Multiple Choice

What is the unit of energy provided by food?

Explanation:
In nutrition, the energy you get from food is measured in Calories, which are kilocalories. One Calorie on a food label actually equals 1,000 small calories—the amount of energy needed to raise 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. This is why dietary energy is expressed as Calories (often shown as Cal or kcal), not as joules or watts. A watt is a unit of power (energy per time), not total energy, and an electron is not a unit of energy. So the best answer is Calories, because it matches how the energy content of foods is communicated to consumers.

In nutrition, the energy you get from food is measured in Calories, which are kilocalories. One Calorie on a food label actually equals 1,000 small calories—the amount of energy needed to raise 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. This is why dietary energy is expressed as Calories (often shown as Cal or kcal), not as joules or watts. A watt is a unit of power (energy per time), not total energy, and an electron is not a unit of energy. So the best answer is Calories, because it matches how the energy content of foods is communicated to consumers.

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