Be The Healthy U!
  • Healthy Blog
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Online Cooking Classes
  • I Can Help
  • 28-Day Program
  • Healthy Dog Blog
  • About Terri
  • Resources
  • Ask Dr. Terri
  • Testimonials

What is a Gram?

6/18/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
Here in the U.S., we measure our food in ounces and pounds, and our liquids in teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, pints, quarts, and gallons. We are pretty comfortable in knowing that there are 16 ounces in a pound; 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon; 4 tablespoons in ¼ cup; 2 cups in a pint; 4 cups or 2 pints in a quart; and 16 cups, 8 pints, or 4 quarts in a gallon. Whew!

Elsewhere, food is measured in milligrams, grams and kilograms, and liquids in milliliters and liters (or millilitres and litres, depending on where you’re from). And quite simply, there are 1,000 milligrams in a gram, 1,000 grams in 1 kilogram and 1,000 milliliters in 1 liter. That’s it. That’s all you need to know to measure foods and liquids using the metric system.

Given that most Americans do not understand the metric system, I find it interesting that dietary recommendations and nutritional labels in the U.S. are written in terms of grams. Grams of protein. Grams of dietary fiber. Grams of carbohydrates. Grams of fat. The problem is that we don't know how to convert between the English and metric systems.

So, what is a gram and what does a gram look like? Let’s start with a unit we are comfortable with, an ounce. An ounce of something roughly will fit into the palm of your hand. An ounce of salt takes up a little less than 2 tablespoons. An ounce of tomato paste takes up even less of those 2 tablespoons than an ounce of salt because the tomato paste is denser than the salt due to the higher liquid content.

Picture
A gram is much, much smaller than an ounce. There are 28.35 grams in an ounce. If you want it to seem like you’re eating more, think of a 4-ounce serving of something as a 113.4-gram serving. That sounds like substantially more! A gram of salt takes up slightly less than ¼ teaspoon and a gram of tomato paste takes up even less of the ¼ teaspoon.

How can you use this information? Knowing that a gram is close to ¼ teaspoon, you know that a teaspoon weighs approximately 4 grams. Knowing that an ounce is close to 2 tablespoons and weighs about 28 grams, you know that a tablespoon weigh roughly 14 grams.

This at least gives you a visual when you’re reading nutritional labels and helps you picture the amount of food being described in terms of grams.

2 Comments
Calvin link
4/23/2019 12:51:32 pm

1 gram is about the same as 1 ml as I recall too?

Reply
Terri link
4/27/2019 03:27:23 pm

That is correct for water; the density of water is 1 g/mL.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Terri Quenzer, PhD

    Terri has a passion for good health and for helping others find happiness in themselves through better health! Through her scientific and life experiences, her goal is to help you reach your healthy goals!

    ​Be The Healthy U!: nominated for San Diego's Best Nutrition/Cooking Classes of 2016!

    Picture
    Catch Terri's interview about plant-based nutrition on KCQB 1170 AM - click here.

    How Not to Die: Terri interviews New York Times Bestselling Author Michael Greger, MD. Listen below.
    Terri speaks with Jordan Hoffman of Jordan Hoffman Acupuncture about what to eat and East vs West.
    Picture

    Click Here To Sign Up For Your Free Newsletter

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    September 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012

    Categories

    All