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Ok we’re going to start at bare bone basics here. The food you eat is primarily made up of nutrients. A nutrient is a chemical that is used by the human body. Nutrients can be classed as either macronutrients or micronutrients. Food has both macro and micro nutrients in it. Different foods have different amounts of macro and micro nutrients in them, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves here, we’ll come back to that later on.

What is a macronutrient?

A macronutrient is a chemical that makes up a major portion of the nutritional value (“goodness”) of food. The main macronutrients are:

Protein
Carbohydrates
Fat
Water

Each macronutrient provides energy and raw material to the body for building and repair. Each macronutrient also provides energy to the body. Let’s take a look at each of the primary macronutrients:

Protein – Raw material for tissue building and repair

Protein is an essential macronutrient. This means that the body cannot produce it and you must get it from food. Protein is made up of Amino Acids. Amino Acids are building blocks that are incorporated into the muscles of your body. Your body has muscles everywhere, not just the muscles you see in the mirror. The lungs, heart and other organs all have muscle tissue, and protein is used to build and repair these, too. If you want to learn more about building lean muscle and getting six pack abs, I recommend you check out Mike Geary's Truth About Six Pack Abs.

Carbohydrates – The energy molecule

Carbohydrates serve to provide energy to the body. While protein is made of amino acids, carbohydrates are broken down to simple sugars (glucose and fructose) during digestion and used (or stored) as energy. Carbohydrates can be classed as either complex carbohydrates or simple carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are essentially sugars. Complex carbohydrates are carbohydrates which are made up of lots of simple sugars “bonded” to each other. Starch is an example of a complex carbohydrate. Functionality wise, simple carbohydrates provide quick energy to the body, complex carbohydrates provide sustained, slower energy to the body, as well as providing health benefits. Don’t worry if not all of this makes sense yet, we’ll tie everything together later on.

Fat – A double edged sword

Fat is used to provide energy to the body. It is also used as a building block for various hormones and plays a major part in lots of biological processes that go on inside the body. Fats are categorised as monosaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated and transsaturated.

Monosaturated fats are healthy fats. They have good effects on overall health.
Polyunsaturated fats are generally healthy fats. They come in two varieties: Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats, with Omega 3 fats being the healthiest of all. Typical diets have way more Omega 6 in them compared to Omega 3.
Saturated fats generally have poor effects on health.
Transsaturated fats are the worst offenders in terms of health and are usually found in processed foods. They are not natural (transsaturated fat is man made) and intake should be limited.

Water – Essential to health

Water is absolutely vital to every biological function the body carries out. It should be drank liberally and regularly.

Micronutrients

Micronutrients are found in smaller amounts in foods. Vitamins and minerals are the typical micronutrients found in food. They have multiple beneficial effects on health.

Fibre is not really a micronutrient or macronutrient. Fibre is used by the body to help transit of food through the digestive tract. Certain types of fibre also have beneficial effects on health parameters such as cholesterol levels.

That should give you an idea of the basics of nutrients found in foods. In the next article, we will look at the composition of foods and what nutrients they contain. From there, we will look at Calories, including the how many calories protein, carbohydrates and fats contain, and hence how many calories are in any given food.

If you want to read more about nutrients, calories and fat loss I can really recommend Fat Loss 4 Idiots. It is a comprehensive guide and investment in your health detailing everything you need to start your fat loss. It really is the best out there at the moment.