80 grams of sugar to calories

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The grams to calories calculator is a simple tool that allows you to convert the amount of macronutrients (expressed in grams) into calories. The article below shows how to convert grams to calories and how many calories there are in a gram of carbohydrate, protein, fat, and alcohol.

Not sure how many grams of each macronutrient you should consume daily? Check out our macro calculator!

Grams to calories conversion

Almost all food labels have information stating the number of total calories and grams of macronutrients, but you will rarely see the number of calories from each macronutrient. This grams to calories calculator helps you to understand the difference between calories and grams, and learn the conversion rules.

Knowing how to convert grams to calories allows you to:

• follow a healthy diet;
• check if you're meeting your energy requirements; and
• achieve healthy weight.

How many calories in a gram of carbohydrate?

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy in the human diet. They include sugars, starches, and fiber.

Carbohydrates consumed in food provide 3.87 kcal of energy per gram for simple sugars, and 3.57 - 4.12 kcal per gram for complex carbohydrates. These values are usually rounded to 4 kcal per gram of carbohydrate to simplify the calculation.

How many calories in a gram of protein?

Proteins are the major functional and structural component of every animal cell. They consist of amino acids, some of which humans cannot synthesize. It means you must obtained proteins from your diet.

As with every macronutrient, they also provide energy - 1 gram of protein provides approximately 4 kcal.

How many calories in a gram of fat?

Fat is the most energy-dense macronutrient - 1 gram provides 9 kcal.

You need fats for the construction and maintenance of cell membranes, to maintain a stable body temperature, and to supply fat-soluble vitamins.

How many calories in a gram of alcohol?

Alcohol contains quite a lot of calories – 7 calories per gram. The amount of alcohol consumed in grams may not be possible to find on the label, but, don't worry, there is an easy way to calculate it using the information provided on every product! Our grams to calories calculator uses the formula below to do it for you:

alcohol [g] = volume [ml] * alcohol by volume [%] * volumetric mass density [g/mL]

The last variable is constant and equals 0.78924 g/mL for alcohol, so we can also present the equation as follows:

alcohol [g] = volume [ml] * alcohol by volume [%] * 0.78924 [g/mL]

Calorie (cal) and kilocalorie (kcal) - is that the same?

Have you ever wondered if the phrase grams to calories and grams to kcal mean the same thing? We are here to give you the answer.

There are two main definitions of a calorie:

1. Small calorie or gram calorie (we usually denote it as cal).
2. Large calorie, food calorie, or kilocalorie (which we present as Cal, calorie, or kcal).

In nutrition, we commonly use the word calorie to mean the number of kilocalories (kcal) when providing nutritional information, therefore our grams to calories calculator uses the phrases grams to calories and grams to kcal interchangeably.

Convert grams to calories - practical example

Let's convert grams to calories using the following nutritional information as an example.

Macronutrient

Grams

Carbohydrates

23

Protein

4

Fat

9

To calculate the number of calories in this food product, you need to use the appropriate conversion rate for each macronutrient:

As modern grocery shoppers, we try to be engaged and knowledgeable about nutrition. From salt to sugar, the movement is on to regain control of what we put on the table. But there’s a lot of confusing information to wade through. Studies show that 80% of shoppers come across conflicting nutritional data and 59% doubt the choices they’re making for their families. What consumers aren’t confused about, though, is the need for a healthy change.

American adults consume an average of 77 grams of sugar per day, more than 3 times the recommended amount for women. This adds up to around 60 pounds of added sugar annually – that’s six, 10-pound bowling balls, folks! The numbers are even worse for children. American kids consume 81 grams per day, equaling over 65 pounds of added sugar per year. Think of it this way – children are ingesting over 30 gallons of added sugars from beverages alone. That’s enough to fill a bathtub! Where’s all this added sugar coming from?

Beverages are the leading category source of added sugars (47% of all added sugars):

• soft drinks – 25%
• fruit drinks – 11%
• sport/energy drinks – 3%
• coffee/tea – 7%

And, as you might guess, snacks and sweets are the next biggest contributor of added sugars at 31%.

How does the body react to so much sugar?

So, what’s a smart shopper to do? It’s tempting to look to alternative sugars as a magical solution. Products made with honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar or turbinado sugar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, and dextrose, for example, are perceived as healthier choices. Don’t be fooled.  Your body sure isn’t! Too much sugar is too much, no matter the source.

It all comes down to how fast the sugars get absorbed. For example, your body spends more time digesting an apple because of the fiber content, so the natural sugar absorbs more slowly. On the flip side, the added sugar in soda arrives all at once in your system like a sugar bomb. All that extra sugar gets converted to calories much more quickly. Not so good for your system!

If you’re looking for no calories, your best option might be a plant-based sweetener like stevia or monk fruit. These sweeteners are “generally recognized as safe” based on published research, a conclusion which has been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

AHA Sugar Recommendation

To keep all of this in perspective, it’s helpful to remember the American Heart Association’s recommendations for sugar intake.

• Men should consume no more than 9 teaspoons (36 grams or 150 calories) of added sugar per day.
• For women, the number is lower: 6 teaspoons (25 grams or 100 calories) per day. Consider that one 12-ounce can of soda contains 8 teaspoons (32 grams) of added sugar!  There goes your whole day’s allotment in one slurp.

The good news is that the added-sugar message is breaking through, and many American adults crave a change. In fact, research suggests that 77 percent of Americans are striving for less sugar in their diets. And 7 in 10 consumers are willing to give up a favorite sugary product in favor of finding a healthier alternative. The willingness is there. For now, your best defense is education.

Food manufacturers are required to list the amount of added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label by mid 2021 or earlier depending on the size of the company.  A recent analysis found that this labeling could potentially prevent nearly 1 million cases of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes over the next two decades.  Listing the total amount of added sugars means that consumers will no longer have to search through the many different aliases for added sugars to try and determine how much added sugar a food or drink contains.

So, read those labels carefully and realize that added sugar is added sugar, no matter what sneaky alias it’s using! 

Written by American Heart Association editorial staff and reviewed by science and medicine advisers. See our editorial policies and staff.

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