Popcorn calories

Popcorn is a specific type of corn that, under heat, explodes or pops to form a small flower shaped eruption. Popcorn is one of the most popular snack items across the world and has been associated with cinema goers for many years. Popcorn is available with several options for garnishes such as butter, salt, caramel and cheese. These garnishes all alter the popcorn calories calculation.

People who are watching their weight tend to calculate calories ever so often.

The human body uses nutrition for the development of organ and tissue cells. It also uses nutrition received for the production of energy. This process is known as metabolism. The speed of metabolism depends on the genetic makeup of an individual. The amount of energy being produced is also determined by the requirements of the body at any given time. An individual may therefore have a temporarily high rate of metabolism when he or she is exercising. Food interacts with chemicals in the cells of the body in the presence of oxygen. When this happens, energy is produced and the wastes are disposed of. This process of energy production also produces heat which is used to help maintain the core body temperature. Food that is not used for metabolism may be sorted in the form of fat. When this happens over a period of time, the individual will become fatter and fatter.
The type of food being consumed by the individual is also important. Foods that contain plenty of fat will be harmful to the individual. Foods that are healthy and nutritious may not lead to too much weight gain. Instead, the consumption of these foods may boost the health of the body and promote a feeling of well being.

The use of exercise to burn fat is one of the most effective ways of controlling one’s weight. This natural method of burning fat is the best way in which an individual can lose weight or avoid gaining weight.  When one wishes to use exercise to burn fat, one needs to perform a long duration exercise cycle to achieve this. The reason for this is simple. Initially, the body will access nutrition that is readily available in the blood. Once this source of nutrition is exhausted, the body will send signals for fat to begin to be burned for energy. It is only at this late stage of the exercise session that fat actually begins to burn. It is for this reason that marathon runners tend to be extremely lean.

Coming back to popcorn calories, one should also note that the method of popcorn preparation plays an important role in determining the calorie content of the food that has been produced. When one seeks to compare popcorn calories of popped vs unpopped corn, it is important to choose an accurate measurement system for this. If one chooses a measurement system based on volume, then one will find that the popcorn calories of unpopped corn are higher. This is only because the density of the corn is higher in a cup of unpopped corn than in one of popped corn. If one measures the popcorn calories count by weight, one will find that unpopped corn has less calories than popped corn.

The highest popcorn calories are found in caramel and peanut flavored popcorns. This is because the coating that surrounds the popped corn is full of calories. The actual popcorn calories remain the same if one extracts the popped corn from the garnish that may be added to this. By reading this information, one may understand that it is best to have plain salted popcorn if one wishes to avoid popcorn calories.

The reputation of popcorn as an agent of weight gain is actually false. Popcorn that is simply salted is good for individuals who wish to watch their weight. This is because a cup of popcorn contains very few calories. Buttered pop corn, for example, contains less than 60 calories in a cup. Air popped popcorn calories for the same flavor fall to just around 30 calories for a cup of pop corn. This is an extremely low value of popcorn calories. The real problem comes when one adds the entire garnish to the popcorn. Caramel pop corn of the same quantity has a calorie value of over 120 calories per cup. This is nearly four times the calorie value of plain air popped corn.

On its own popcorn is rather good for the system of the individual. Popcorn contains plenty of fiber which helps the process of digestion. Fiber may also help with avoiding weight gain to an extent. This happens because fiber allows food to move smoothly through the digestive system. This affords the body less time to absorb nutrients from the food, thus effectively reducing the food intake of the individual even though the actual consumption of food remains the same.

Although popcorn may not be the healthiest snack that one can have, it is certainly healthier than other snack options like chips. Popcorn also tends to be light and fluffy. Therefore, a large tub of popcorn may actually contain only a small amount of corn by weight. This is actually an ideal situation for someone worried about popcorn calories. The fact that the snack takes up a large area for a small amount of calories means that an individual will be able to snack for long periods of time without necessarily suffering from the ill effects of consuming too much fat or carbohydrate.

Microwave popped corn actually registers lower on the popcorn calories scale when compared with air popped corn and oil popped corn. This makes popcorn, particularly natural unflavored popcorn, one of the better snacks that an individual can consume at home without the fear of too much weight gain.