Proteins, minerals, carbohydrates, and fats are all vital nutrients that keep you alive and healthy. But what are they? And how does your body actually use them? In this post, Dayanna Volitich reviews some common food definitions everyone should know: macro and micronutrients, proteins, minerals, carbohydrates, and fats.
Macro and micronutrients
Dayanna Volitich defines macronutrients as foods that supply your body with calories for energy – like proteins, carbs, and fats. Micronutrients, on the other hand, help your body carry out other important physiological processes. For example, they help build and repair tissue and work with your metabolism. Minerals and vitamins are micronutrients because your body needs them in smaller amounts. Moreover, micronutrients do not provide energy for your body, since they contain no calories.
Your diet is critical to providing both macro and micronutrients that you need to stay healthy. Without them, you put yourself at risk of illness and malnutrition. In the U.S., Volitich says, it is common for people to overeat and become obese, because they do not eat nutrient-dense foods.
Proteins
The next common food definition Dayanna Volitich says it is important to know are proteins. As complex organic compounds made of chains of amino acids, proteins help your body grow, maintain, and repair body tissues. Next to water, protein is the most abundant source in the human body. All of your cells contain proteins, including your skin, muscles, organs, and glands.
In food, you find two types of proteins:
- Complete – contain all nine essential amino acids your body needs
- Incomplete – lacks one or more amino acids
Examples of foods that are great sources of protein are meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and some dairy products.
Minerals
Next up on Dayanna Volitich’s list of common food definitions is minerals. Minerals are inorganic elements in your body used for many purposes, lie bone building, hormone production, and heartbeat regulation, for example. Just like with nutrients, you can have either macro or micro/trace minerals. Macrominerals include things like sodium, chloride, sulfur, magnesium, and potassium. By contrast, things like iron, iodine, zinc, cobalt, chromium, copper, and fluoride are micronutrients. The best ways to get these minerals into your diet are through food.
Carbohydrates
Carbs are the macronutrients you need in the largest amounts. They are your body’s main source of fuel and are most easily converted to glucose, which your body’s cells use for energy. Carbs are built of sugar molecules, that can either be complex or simple. Complex carbs are great sources of fiber (e.g. whole grain breads, cereals, starchy vegetables, beans). Simple carbs, on the other hand, are found naturally in things like fruits, whole milk, and non starchy vegetables. The general rule when trying to eat healthy is to have fewer complex carbs and more simple carbs, avoiding refined sugar altogether.
Fats
The final common food definition Dayanna Volitich wants to tackle in this post is fats. Unfortunately, fats seem to have a bad reputation among all the diet fads out there. But despite this, they are essential for your health and survival, Volitich says. Your body breaks fats down into fatty acids and glycerides, then stores them for reserve energy. They are also essential for the production of certain hormones and storing vitamins in the body.
When finding fats to include in your diet, stick with traditional fats and oils. This includes butter, natural animal fats, extra virgin olive oil, expeller expressed sesame and flax seed oils, and tropical oils like coconut and palm.
Conclusion
It is important to know these common food definitions, according to avid holistic health lover Dayanna Volitich. Once you know these definitions, you can create a better menu for your meals and include the foods that will help you become healthier and happier!
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