Unit 03

Energy

Video
Overview of Energy

Transcript

Slide 1

This video will provide an overview of Energy, as covered in NUTR 3210 Unit 03.

Slide 2

When we talk about energy, we are referring to the capacity to do metabolic or

physical work. There are many different types of energy, but in nutrition, when we
talk about energy we are talking about the energy that is provided to the body by
the diet, through either foods or drinks that contain the macronutrients
carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. As we will consider in this unit, these
macronutrients contain energy as part of their chemical structures. And, in
addition to considering diet as a source of energy, we are also going to consider
how our body expends energy by breaking down stored fuel. In terms of units of
energy measurement, we mainly consider two forms. First, if we are looking at
the cellular level, we measure energy as ATP, and our diet provides us with food
that we convert into ATP in order to do cellular work. Second, if we are looking at
the foods and drinks we are consuming, we measure energy as calories. The
prefix “calor” means heat, and that’s exactly what we’re measuring here.
Specifically, one calorie is equal to the amount of energy needed to raise the
temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celcius. It’s important to
distinguish between small calories, which are identified with a small “c”, and big
Calories, also known as kcal or kilocalories, which are identified with a big “C”,
because big Calories are the ones that we see on Nutrition Facts labels. The
situation here is the same as for grams and kilograms, whereby the big Calories
are equal to 1000 little calories. If we measured in little calories, the numbers
would simply be too large, so that’s why we use big Calories. Considering big
Calories as a function of heat, we see that one big Calorie is equal to the amount
of energy needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one
degree Celcius. There is a third unit of energy measurement, the Joule, which is
a reflection of force applied and distance, but it’s not commonly used in nutrition.
As already mentioned, in this unit, we will consider both energy intake from the
diet as well as energy expenditure by the body, as these are important concepts
in nutritional sciences.

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Slide 3

The difference between the intake of energy from our diet and the energy
expenditure by the body is defined as one’s energy balance, which can either be
neutral, positive, or negative. If energy balance is neutral, this means that energy
intake is equal to energy expenditure. This is really the ideal situation for an adult
with a healthy body weight, as energy balance should result in the maintenance
of body weight, with neither weight loss nor gain observed. In contrast, if energy
balance is positive, energy intake is greater than energy expenditure, and in an
adult, this will result in weight gain. However, positive energy balance is normal
in children and adolescents during periods of growth and development, as new
body tissue (which contains energy) is being laid down. Positive energy balance
is also normal during pregnancy. If the opposite is observed, and energy intake is
less than energy expenditure, energy balance will be negative. This is commonly
called protein or calorie malnutrition, which we will consider in more detail in a
later unit. Negative energy balance will result in weight loss across all stages of
the lifespan, which can be problematic under many circumstances but may be
acceptable if weight loss is desired. A negative energy balance during fevers and
infection is normal, as there is increased energy expenditure as the body mounts
an immune defense. Exercise can induce positive or negative energy balance,
depending on whether body mass is increasing, such as during periods of weight
training to build muscle, or decreasing, such as during periods of prolonged
aerobic exercise to reduce body fat.

Slide 4

A very important concept to understand when considering energy in nutrition is

the concept of combustion. We typically think of combustion as “burning”, and to
an extent it is, but by definition, combustion of an organic substance involves that
substance, which is called a fuel, reacting with oxygen to produce carbon
dioxide, water, and heat. How much heat is produced is directly related to how
much energy is in that fuel. This process of combustion can happen outside of
the body simply by burning a fuel in a fireplace, but we can more formally
measure food energy outside of the body in a bomb calorimeter. We will look at
burning fuel in a bomb calorimeter shortly, but essentially, this is combustion that
is occurring in a closed container. In internal combustion, which is combustion
happening inside of the body, we can think of that container as being our body,
and combustion occurs during metabolism or cellular respiration. Regardless of
whether it is occurring internally or externally, burning fuel in a high oxygen
environment such as our atmosphere is essentially the same as the oxidation of
fuel in our bodies, and both produce carbon dioxide, water, and heat, as depicted
in this figure.

Slide 5

In this figure, we can see in more detail how combustion of fuel outside of the
body is similar to that occurring during cellular respiration, although it also

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highlights an important difference. On the substrate side of both equations, it can
be seen that fuel from the diet reacts with oxygen. And, on the product side of
both equations, both carbon dioxide and water are formed, and it can also be
seen that heat is produced. The only difference lies in the temporary capture of
energy as ATP during cellular respiration, which will eventually be released as
heat as it is used to do work. Another important point to emphasize is that not all
of the energy from dietary fuel is captured as ATP. In fact, approximately 60% of
that energy is lost as heat, and this is how much of our body “heat” is produced.
Only around 40% of our dietary fuel will be temporarily captured as ATP.
Regardless of whether energy is captured as ATP in cellular respiration or
released entirely as heat during combustion, the total heat produced in cellular
respiration will be similar as in fuel combustion, although there are some
differences related to types of energy, which we will discuss soon.

Slide 6

Going back to our earlier discussion of measuring fuel energy through

combustion in a bomb calorimeter, this image provides a visual illustration of that
experimental procedure. In bomb calorimetry, a sample of food is placed in a
tightly sealed, highly oxygenated container called a “bomb”, which is immersed in
a larger container filled with water. The food sample is ignited using an ignition
switch and the sample burns completely as it reacts with oxygen in the bomb,
generating carbon dioxide, heat and water. The heat produced in the bomb will
cause the temperature of the water in the larger vessel to increase, and the
caloric content of the food can then be determined by measuring the temperature
change using the equation 1 Calorie = amount of energy needed to raise the
temperature of 1kg of water by 1°C. This value represents the Gross Energy of
the food, which is all of the energy that is present. Bomb calorimetry is a type of
direct calorimetry, which will be discussed in the video on energy expenditure.

It is important to note that during metabolism, not all of the Gross Energy will
ultimately be available to do work.

Slide 7

The Gross Energy measured in a bomb calorimeter represents all of the energy
that is contained within that food. However, not surprisingly given the complexity
of digestion and absorption as described in Unit 02, not all of that energy will be
available to the body. As you learnt previously, some food such as insoluble fiber
is neither digested nor absorbed, and is lost in feces. There can also be energy
lost in urine and gaseous secretions, although the amount lost in gas is
miniscule. And, energy is used in the process of digesting and absorbing food,
which means that energy is not available to the body to do other work. The
energy lost in the processing of food is called the Heat Increment of Feeding, or
HIF, which will be discussed in the next video. Because of all of these various
losses, we have several types of measurable energy, including Gross Energy,

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Digestible Energy, Metabolizable Energy, and Net Energy, which are illustrated
on the next slide.

Slide 8

We can essentially conceptualize the different types of energy as moving from

the energy in food outside of the body, which is the Gross Energy or GE, down to
the energy that is actually available to the body to do useful work, which is the
Net Energy or NE. In between we have Digestible Energy, which is energy that is
absorbed into the body from the gastrointestinal tract and is simply what is left
over from the Gross Energy once fecal energy has been lost. Of the Digestible
Energy that gets absorbed, still more of it is lost from the body in the form of
urinary and gaseous energy, although these amounts are quite small.
Regardless, although this energy has been absorbed into the body, it is not
available to do work, and the energy that remains after the urinary and gaseous
losses is called Metabolizable Energy or ME. Technically, the Metabolizable
Energy is available to do work, but there is another loss that must be considered,
and that is the Heat Increment of Feeding or HIF. When we eat, energy must be
expended in the processing of food, related to things like chewing and active
transport of nutrients. So, to finally get to the Net Energy or NE, we subtract the
Heat Increment of Feeding from the Metabolizable Energy, and this energy is
available to do useful work like support basal metabolism, physical activity,
growth, pregnancy, and lactation.

Slide 9

In the 1800’s, a scientist named Wilbur Atwater quantified the values of different
types of energy for each macronutrient, including the Gross Energy (which was
determined by bomb calorimetry), the Digestible Energy (which was determined
using digestibility experiments), and the Metabolizable Energy (which was
determined by subtracting losses in urine). Note that gaseous losses were not
considered, as they are so small as to be negligible. As you may have noticed
from what we’ve covered so far, the primary shift in energy as we move from the
energy in food outside of the body to the energy that is available to do work
happens at the level of Metabolizable Energy. This is the energy that is available
for energy expenditure, although we still distinguish Metabolizable from Net
Energy based on the subtraction of the Heat Increment of Feeding. Regardless,
the values for Metabolizable Energy are really important, and represent numbers
that we quantify and present as the useful indicators of how much energy in a
food is available to our body for use. The values for Metabolizable Energy that
were quantified by Wilbur Atwater are called the Physiological Fuel Values, and
come in at 9kcal/g of fat, 4kcal/g of carbohydrate, and 4kcal/g of protein. These
numbers are still in use today, and are the values used to determine the energy
included on a Nutrition Facts label. Importantly, it can be seen in this table that
for each macronutrient, the Gross Energy is the highest value, and there is a
small percentage of energy that is lost in the feces as no nutrient is 100%
digestible. It can also be seen that the only macronutrient for which energy is lost

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in the urine is protein, and in Unit 07, you will see that this is because of the
requirement for nitrogen excretion from the amino terminal of each amino acid.
So, while there is little difference between the Gross Energy and Metabolizable
Energy of fat and carbohydrate, for protein, there is a greater difference, as
energy is lost in the urine.

Slide 10

The process of using the Physiological Fuel Values to determine the energy on a
Nutrition Facts label is very simple. All that is required is the amount of each
macronutrient that are present, which as we’ve already seen, can be determined
using proximate analysis as well as more modern analytical procedures. Some
key points to remember when considering Nutrition Facts labels are that energy
is presented as Metabolizable Energy, calories are presented as big Calories,
serving size must be considered, and error can be introduced if dietary fiber is
considered to be fully digestible when it really isn’t. So, if we look at the label
shown here as an example, we can see that total number of big Calories as
Metabolizable Energy per serving of the food is 260. This number is determined
by multiplying the number of grams of fats by 9kcal/g, the number of grams of
total carbohydrate by 4kcal/g, and the number of grams of protein by 4kcal/g.
Doing this will give you 260 total Calories per serving. This food is high in fiber, at
9g per serving, which may not be fully digestible, and in fact may actually lower
the number of total Calories a bit. However, this is a minor difference and
companies usually choose to include the fiber in the Caloric contribution rather
than go through the hassle of trying to get approval to present a lower energy
value.

Slide 11

As the Physiological Fuel Values clearly show, not all macronutrients are created
equal when it comes to energy. The reason for this is because the chemical
composition of the nutrient molecules determines the degree to which they are
able to combust, and the determining factor is the amount of oxygen that is
present. Molecules with higher oxidation have less energy because they react
with less oxygen during combustion, while molecules with lower oxidation have
more energy because they react with more oxygen during combustion. So,
carbohydrates, which contain a lot of oxygen relative to the other atoms present
in the molecule, have less energy than fats, which contain little oxygen relative to
the other atoms present. This will be clearly shown in Units 5 and 6, where we
will see that carbohydrates contain many oxygen containing functional groups
like carboxylic acids, ketones, and aldehydes, while fats are primarily comprised
of hydrocarbons. Proteins fall somewhere in between, and are variable
depending on the structure of the amino acid side chain. Overall, however, the
Metabolizable Energy values of carbohydrates and proteins per gram is equal, as
there is loss of energy as nitrogen from proteins.

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Slide 12

In summary, the study of energy in nutrition includes the consideration both of

energy intake from food as well as energy expenditure in the body, which
determines one’s energy balance. Central to the understanding of food energy is
the concept of combustion, which can happen either internally or externally and
which involves fuel reacting with oxygen and producing heat, carbon dioxide and
water. There are several types of energy that can be measured in different ways,
and which represent energy contained within food as well as at various stages of
energy loss and usefulness in the body. Lastly, different macronutrients have
differing amounts of energy, which is determined by the degree of oxidation of
the molecule.

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