Proteins, Fats and Carbs - Oh My!

by Allyn Amelia Blind, M.S., NASM-CPT

Nutrition can be extremely confusing; with the inundation of useless information, good information and just plain marketing and advertising, the average person has reason to be flat out frustrated. Fat is bad right, or it's good if it's a nut or wait... fish? I need protein to lose muscle... wait, or if I want to be tone I need it? And carbs... none after 8pm so I don't gain weight... right?

Well.... yes and no. 

But, have no fear! The next month, I will be setting the record straight in easy to understand ways; building on our knowledge of calorie intake (check out the recent blog) and sharing information about the three primary MACRONUTRIENTS: protein, fat and carbohydrates (carbs).

What is a MACRONUTRIENT? Our good friends Merriem-Webster defines a macronutrient as: 

1. A substance required in relatively large amounts by a living organism

2. A type of food (ie. fat, protein, carb) required in large amounts in the human diet

Macronutrients are essential to every human being, no matter what their health goals may be. We all need to balance each macro in our daily and weekly nutrition. It is extremely important to incorporate protein, fat and carbohydrates into your plan to best serve your body. These nutrients give us energy (through calories), replenish loss from activity and exercise and are important to general quality of life. To better understand each macronutrient, let's take a quick look at them:

PROTEIN - Composes muscles, organs and enzymes. This is the most important macronutrient for and essential to muscle building. Examples of protein include:

• Milk, cheese and yogurt
• Lean, white meats (fish, chicken)
• Eggs
• Beans
• Seafood
• Soy

Calories PER gram of protein = 4

FAT - Contrary to what most believe, FATS are VERY important to a well functioning and healthy body. It acts as structural components for all cell membranes and supplies necessary chemicals for hormone production. Fats protect our vital organs! Dietary fat also carries fat soluble vitamins from food to your body in the form of; vitamins A, D, E and K. Fat does not MAKE us fat. Excess calories make us fat. Examples of healthy fats include:

• EVOO
• Nuts or nut butters (natural)
• Avocado
• Eggs

Calories PER gram of fat = 9

CARBOHYDRATES (carbs or CHO) - Carbs provide the energy you need to live an active and healthy life (keep away that tired and lethargic feeling). Carbs are needed consistently throughout the day to feed the brain with glucose, it is the fuel that revs up EVERY single part of your body. Again, carbs don't make us fat. Excess calories make us fat. Examples of carb sources include:

• Fruits and vegetables
• WHOLE GRAIN bread and/or pasta
• Brown rice
• Oats (oatmeal)
• Legumes (beans, peas)

Calories PER gram of carbohydrate = 4

Please note the calories per gram of each macronutrient. As you can see, fats (as expected) contain more calories per gram. This simply means that a food with more fat in it will generally be of smaller portion size as it is more calorically dense. Keep this in mind when making your daily nutrition choices. 

As you can see from the brief descriptions of the three main macronutrients, each serve a distinct purpose in supporting our daily life. It is important to include a variety of these in your nutrition. We will look more closely at EACH macronutrient this month so be sure to check back to learn more about how to plan your nutrition, and what to put into your body for YOUR best results!

Comments

[Flax Seed Benefits]

I just had a question, what about flax seed and flax seed oil, where does that fit into the mix?
Flax provide great benefits!