Nutrition 101: Macronutrients

First Thing’s First…What are Macronutrients?

Macronutrients, aka “macros,” are the three basic elements of nutrients found in foods that give us energy. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are all equally important for us to consume in order to fuel our bodies for the day, as well as maintain healthy functioning cells, tissues, and organs.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of fuel. The carbs we eat are broken down into glucose, which is converted to energy to support bodily functions and physical activities. There are two major sources of carbs: simple and complex.

Simple carbs are typically highly processed or refined foods, containing a lot of additives and sugars. Examples are white bread, pastries, sodas, pasta, white rice, etc. Many of these foods don’t contain a lot of nutrients but contain a lot of calories which can contribute to weight gain and promotes the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Complex carbs, on the other hand, are the “healthier’ form of carbohydrates, typically seen in whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans. They promote good health by delivering a plethora of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients to the body. The fiber found in complex carbs is especially good for the body because it promotes a healthy gut mucosa, helps maintain a healthy weight, keeps you full for longer, and reduces the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer.

Carbohydrates have an energy value of 4 calories/gram. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that carbs make up 45-65% of your total daily calories. Examples of healthy carbohydrate choices are whole grains, squash, sweet potatoes, fruit, brown rice, quinoa, beans, amaranth, and couscous.

Fats

Dietary fats are just as important as carbohydrates to give your body energy and to support cell growth. They also help protect your organs and keep your body warm. Fats help your body absorb some nutrients and produce important hormones, too. There are four major types of fats: saturated, trans, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated.

Saturated fats are fat molecules that are not bound together by double bonds between carbon molecules because they are saturated with hydrogen atoms. They are naturally occurring in a lot of animal sources, including meat and dairy products such as beef, lamb, pork, and cheese.

Trans fats are mostly unnaturally occurring fats that are made in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. Trans fats are used in a lot of processed foods because they are inexpensive and last a long time. The downside to that is that they raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, lower your HDL (good) cholesterol levels and increase your risk of developing heart disease and stroke. Trans fats are found in a lot of processed foods and pastries like doughnuts, cakes, pie crusts, biscuits, and frozen pizza.

Monounsaturated fats only have one double bond within the molecule, while polyunsaturated fats contains more than one double bond. These two types of fats are the healthiest to consume on a daily basis as they both decrease LDL cholesterol levels, increase HDL cholesterol levels, and provide nutrients to help develop and maintain your body’s cells. These fats also contribute Vitamin E to the diet, which is an important antioxidant for the health of your blood, brain, and skin. Polyunsaturated fats are also important in providing essential fatty acids, such as Omega-3 and Omega-6 which support brain development, mental health, heart health, and so much more!

All fats have an energy value of 9 calories/gram. It is recommended that 25-35% of daily calories comes from fat sources. Healthy fats are typically found in avocado, nuts/nut butters, seeds, cheese, coconut, olives, chia seeds, and dark chocolate.

Proteins

Protein is found everywhere throughout our bodies. It makes up our muscles, bones, skin, hair, and the hemoglobin that carries oxygen in our blood. Protein is made up of building blocks called amino acids, and they are classified into three groups: essential, nonessential, and conditional.

Essential amino acids cannot be made by the body, and must be consumed from food sources. These amino acids are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. They do not need to be consumed within one meal, but rather balanced throughout an entire day. Although, certain food sources who have all 9 essential amino acids in them are termed, “complete proteins,” and they are mostly animal-based such as meat, poultry, fish, and eggs. There are also a few vegan sources like soy products and quinoa that are also considered complete proteins. Nonessential amino acids are made by the body from essential amino acids or in the normal breakdown of protein. And finally, conditional amino acids are ones that are needed in times of illness and stress.

Proteins also have an energy value of 4 calories/gram. It is recommended that 10-35% of daily calories come from proteins. Protein is the only macronutrient that does not have a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) but it is generally appropriate to consume 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Foods high in protein are egg whites, chicken breast, lean beef, turkey, fish, and soy products.

How Macronutrients Contribute to a Diet Plan

Diet: in nutrition, we use the term “diet” to imply the foods regularly consumed by an individual on a daily basis. Not a restriction of foods or calories for health or weight-management purposes.

The job of many naturopathic doctors (as well as dietitians, nutritionists, etc.) is to formulate diet plans for patients who are interested in gaining or losing weight. We saw what a huge role macronutrients play in maintaining a healthy body and mind, but they also obviously play a huge role in weight. So, in order to do this, many diet plans focus on changing the amount of carbs, fats, and proteins in your diet in order to best suit your goals. My mindset on diet plans for weight loss is to never restrict foods just because they’re “bad” for you. No food should ever be labeled “bad’ because even if they aren’t the healthiest for your body, they could make you happy, and that’s healthy for you soul, which is just as important in holistic medicine.

As we saw, fats contain the most amounts of calories per gram, making them the most energy dense. Many people assume that in order to lose weight, they should limit the amount of fats they consume, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Consuming healthy (unsaturated) fats leads to an increase in weight loss overall due to them being higher in energy content, making you feel full throughout the day and less inclined to snack, therefore, naturally limiting the amount of calories you are consuming.

When trying out new diets, whether it’s for the purpose of losing weight, gaining weight, increasing muscle mass, or getting more lean, it’s always important to consult with a professional for the best and healthiest outcome, for your personal goals.