Calories are a unit of energy. They show us how much energy a food or drink contains, but also how much energy our body needs to work properly.
Every day, we get energy from the food and drinks we have. At the same time, our body uses energy for basic functions like breathing, blood circulation, digestion, keeping our body temperature stable, and also for physical activity.
The relationship between the energy we get and the energy we use is called energy balance:
When we take in more energy than we use, the body stores the excess, mainly as fat.
When we use more energy than we take in, the body gets energy from its reserves.
That's why calories aren’t “good” or “bad.” They're just a tool to understand energy, helping us manage our nutrition and body weight better, always together with the quality of the foods and our body's needs.
