Abstract
THE Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has issued an interesting brochure entitled "Energy-Yielding Components of Food and Computation of Calorie Values"(from the Organisation, Washington, D.C.). This is the report of a Committee on Calorie Conversion Factors and Food Composition Tables, and contains much useful information. An appendix deals with organic acids as sources of available calories, and this includes a useful bibliography. The Committee considered the main causes of difference between estimates of energy-yielding components and of energy values, and concluded that the ideal procedure is separate determination of all the substances contained in food which contribute energy, combined with accurate assessment of their individual physiological values and their interrelationships. The question of the protein value of nitrogenous constituents is not completely resolved. Discussing carbohydrate values of foods, the Committee considers that at present the use of ‘carbohydrate by difference' is justified, provided that its limitations are understood and appropriate procedures are used for deriving energy values. The value of the report cannot, however, be appreciated unless it is read.
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Food Calories. Nature 161, 306 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/161306a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/161306a0