Caloric Content and Biological Molecules Found in your Favorite Food
Knowing what particular macromolecules that are consumed each day is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. While all
macromolecules are made by our bodies, three out of the four major classes of biological macromolecules are consumed and used
from the food you eat.
Proteins are important to consume as they are a source of energy and are important for structural components, enzymes, immune
defense, and other activities in your body. Carbohydrates mostly serve as an energy source, but can also be used for structural
purposes, such as the cell walls of plant cells, and exoskeleton of arthropods. While the purpose of this activity is not to
differentiate between good and bad carbohydrates, generally, complex carbohydrates such as fiber, are considered “good” because
they take longer to break down, thus requiring energy on the part of your body to digest. Simple sugars like glucose and sucrose are
more readily available sources of energy. That is, they require less energy to digest and can provide your body with more energy.
However, if you do not use this energy, it is then stored as glycogen in your liver and other areas of your body, leading to weight
gain.
Lipids are generally used for energy as well as to dissolve some vitamins and minerals that are water insoluble. Like carbs, there are
“good” and “bad” lipids. Generally, the “bad” lipids are saturated fats (such as butter) and trans fats as they are more rigid in
structure leading to problems such as coronary artery disease. Unsaturated fats (such as oils) are generally considered “good” lipids
as they are less rigid in structure. Nonetheless, all lipids store energy which can later be used by the body if food supplies are in
short supply. Cholesterol is another lipid used by the body, but is needed in small amounts. Cholesterol is necessary to maintain the
shape of cell membranes. Too little cholesterol and the cell membranes break easily, too much cholesterol, and it makes cell
membranes too rigid, leading to many problems in organisms.
You will also need to be familiar with how to read a nutrition label to gather the information needed to know the amounts of fat,
carbs, and proteins you are consuming with each food source. Below is an example nutrition label to highlight these areas:
Total Fat per serving
Total Carbohydrates per serving
Total Proteins per serving
HOMEWORK: Complete page three and turn in. Bear in mind that nutrition facts may not be readily apparent if in the following
situations below, but here is how you get the information:



If eating at a restaurant, they are obligated to provide you with nutrition information when asked, even if it’s on their website.
If eating food without a label, such as produce, do an internet search of the nutrition information needed.
If cooking a recipe yourself, either consult the recipe for nutrition information, or tally all ingredients used in your recipe.
Using the example above, we can now figure out the percent carbohydrate, fat, and protein in this food. Since fats are
approximately 9 calories per gram, carbs are 4 calories per gram, and proteins are 4 calories per gram, use the
following formulas:
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐹𝑎𝑡 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 ∗ 9 + 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑏 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 ∗ 4 + 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 ∗ 4
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐹𝑎𝑡 =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐹𝑎𝑡 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 ∗ 9
∗ 100%
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑠 =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑏 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 ∗ 4
∗ 100%
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑠 =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑠 ∗ 4
∗ 100%
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠
1 cup of this particular food is 261 calories. Note that this does not match with the total calories on the label. That’s
because nutrition labels are allowed to estimate this information. Nevertheless, out of the 261 calories, 117 calories are
fat, 124 are carbs, and 20 are proteins. In other words, 45% of a serving of this food is fat, 48% is made of carbs, and
7.66% proteins. Keep in mind, that there are “good” and “bad” carbs and lipids, so a high carb or lipid diet is not
necessarily a bad thing, just be sure to avoid foods high in saturated fats, trans fats, sugars, and cholesterol.
Name: _______________________________________ Due Date: _________________
Points: ______/10
Calculating Total Values of Biological Macromolecules in Your Favorite Food
For this portion of the activity, you determine the percent Fat, Carbs, Protein, in your favorite food as well as Total Calories per serving. The
equations below will help you determine the proportion of your favorite food based on the different groups of macromolecules:
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐹𝑎𝑡 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 =
𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑎𝑡 ∗ 9
∗ 100%
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜ℎ𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 =
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 =
𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑠 ∗ 4
∗ 100%
𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠
𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛 ∗ 4
∗ 100%
𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠
Please answer all questions in red font. Be sure to complete this assignment in Microsoft Word in OneDrive with edits enabled and version history
on. See submission instructions in “All About This Class” for more information.
1. What is the name of your favorite food? _________________________ (1pt).
2. What is the serving size for your food? __________________________ Does this serving size realistically reflect
the amount you eat of this food in a single sitting? _________________ (2pts).
3.
Grams of Each Biological Molecule in Your Favorite Food (2pts)
Total Calories
3.
Fat (Grams)
Carbohydrates (Grams)
Proteins (Grams)
Percent Fat, Carbohydrates, and Proteins in Your Favorite Food (1pt)
Total Percent Fat Consumed
Total Percent Carbohydrates Consumed
Total Percent Protein Consumed
%
%
%
Remember that Percentages add up to 100%
4. Name an activity and how long or how much you would need to perform this activity in order to burn off all
calories consumed by one serving of your favorite food. Put the activity, calories per unit, and answer below.
(2pts).
5. Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins are all important energy sources, BUT you need vitamins and minerals to
assist with biological processes in your body and build biomatter. Name two Non-energy nutrients in your
favorite food and what do they do for your body? In addition to vitamins and minerals, there are carbs, lipids,
and proteins that have non-energy functions (2pts).