Macro Nutrients: The Basics

I wanted to put together a short series on the 3 primary macro nutrients that we eat everyday. Knowing what they do and their various forms will help you to make informed decisions about what you eat and how you put together your weekly meal plan. I’m going to start with a short overview today and we’ll get into some detail in later posts.

The three macro nutrients are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. You can also include alcohols but I won’t be exploring that any time soon.

• Carbohydrates: 4 kcalories per gram. These provide energy to your body and store energy for it. They help in brain functioning, fertilization, blood clotting and your immune system. Common dietary sources of carbs are breads, pastas, fruits and vegetables.
• Proteins: 4 kcalores per gram. Proteins perform a multitude of functions in your body. They make up muscles, but also they have a lot of cellular interactions and make up enzymes to be catalysts of chemical processes in your body. Common dietary sources of proteins of protein are in meats, dairy products, eggs, and beans.
• Fats: 7 kcalories per gram. Despite all the low fat foods on the stores shelves, fats perform critical functions in your body. They help to digest absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K as these are only fat soluble. Fats also aid the immune system and other functions preventing disease. Common dietary sources of fats include nuts, fish, many seeds and animal fats.

Hope this helps in getting grounded in the basics of nutrition. We’ll be moving on from here starting with the EVIL carbohydrate (or is it?).