By Renata Trister , DO
Micronutrients and Macronutrients
The composition of our diet is essential to meeting the needs of our bodies and therefore it’s important to understand the types of nutrients can be split into: macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).
Macronutrients
The three macronutrients all have their own specific roles and functions in the body and supply us with calories or energy. For this reason, the body requires these nutrients in relatively large amounts to grow, develop, repair and feel good!
Fats
Fats are an essential part of a healthy diet and should account for about 15-20% what you consume. They help by improving brain development, overall cell functioning, protecting the body’s organs and even helping you absorb vitamins found in foods.
Sources of healthy fats: Almonds, walnuts, seeds (pumpkin, chia), olives, and avocados.
Protein
Protein is essential for repairing and regenerating body tissues and cells, a healthy functioning immune system and manufacturing hormones.
Protein is found in meat, chicken, fish and eggs.
Good sources of plant protein: Beans, pulses and legumes, seeds (hemp, chia, flax), nuts (unsalted), quinoa, avocado, beets, raw greens (kale, spinach).
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are comprised of small chains of sugar, which are broken down into glucose and used as the body’s primarily energy source.
Healthy Carbohydrate options: Apples, bananas, cauliflower, carrots, oats, brown rice, millet, quinoa, chickpeas, and kidney beans.
What are micronutrients?
Vitamins and minerals are called micronutrients and instead of being a source of energy or calories like the macronutrients discussed earlier (proteins carbohydrates and fats) the micronutrients actually help us metabolize macronutrients into usable forms for our bodies and they are essential for overall health. They aid in all of our biological processes such as digestion, elimination and detoxification. Micronutrients help improve our immunity and resistance against disease. There are actually two groups of vitamins. The water-soluble vitamins are the B vitamins and vitamin C. Water-soluble vitamins are much more sensitive and are much more likely to be lost during the cooking process. It is actually better to eat vitamin B and C rich fruits/vegetables raw – keeping these nutrients intact. Water-soluble vitamins are also very sensitive to the passage of time. So let’s say we pick an avocado for instance if this avocados travel to long distance the water-soluble vitamins actually are going to be lost. This makes a very strong case for eating local foods as often as possible because they traveled a shorter distance. The fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E and K and these are found in the lipid portion of both plants and animals. Fat-soluble vitamins are actually stored in the body so deficiencies show symptoms later.
Minerals (such as Calcium, Iron etc.) are also very important, but frequently overlooked in the modern diet.