What’s with macronutrients?
Summary
What are macronutrients and why are they important? The three macronutrients are carbohydrates, fats, and lipids, and are known as “energy-yielding” compounds, meaning that they can provide our bodies with calories for energy. Macronutrients are needed in large amounts in our diet, hence the term “macro”. Micronutrients, on the other hand, are only needed in small amounts in our diet. Popular culture has made “counting macros” extremely popular, but why? Each macronutrient has specific properties and does something different for our bodies. Macronutrients are present in all foods you consume on the daily. Oftentimes, with a proper diet, being conscious of the amount of each of the macronutrients you are consuming can aid in weight loss (or weight gain) and help you reach your fitness goals. Proteins have the most diverse role as a macronutrient and play a role in building muscle, our enzymes, our antibodies, and maintaining our tissues and cells. Just as protein is associated with building muscle, carbohydrates are associated with providing our bodies with short-term energy. Carbohydrates are a diverse group and different types of carbohydrates play different roles in the body. The third macronutrient, fat, is often regarded negatively but is actually essential in a healthy diet as it plays a major role in storing energy and keeping up with the major biochemical reactions in our body. Now more than ever, popular diets have emerged as a weight loss tool. Note that it is important to consult a professional before starting any type of diet. Popular diets that are low on carbs, such as the keto (or ketogenic) may increase weight loss initially but can actually lead to negative results in the long term. Below, we will take a closer look at all the macronutrients, including carbs, lipids, and fats, and discuss how they are essential to incorporate into a healthy diet for different reasons.
The Details
Popular culture has made protein out to be essential in building muscle. And while consuming enough protein can aid in muscle building, this macronutrient has the most diverse function of them all. Consuming protein helps support tissue repair, growth and maintenance. In addition, proteins are the building blocks of enzymes that help catalyze millions of reactions in our body to keep us moving. They also are the basis of antibodies to help us fight against disease. Moral of the story, proteins are far more than just the “muscle-building” macronutrient. Essential life functions could not occur if we do not consume adequate amounts of protein. Consider including a more diverse range of protein sources into your diet, as all proteins are not made equal. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and there are 20 of them. Some of them are nonessential, meaning we do not need to consume them and our body can actually make them. However, some are essential, meaning that we need to consume them in our diet in order for our bodies to function properly. A complete protein is one that provides all of these essential amino acids that we consume in our diet. Complete proteins often include animal proteins like chicken, beef, pork, or eggs. Including a variety of protein sources in your diet can help make sure your body is getting the proper nutrition it needs. If you are following a plant-based diet, sources of protein you may want to incorporate into your diet may be tofu, chickpeas, nuts, and quinoa. So why is it that protein is considered to aid in muscle building and weight loss? Protein provides your body with 4 calories for every gram you eat. However, studies have proven that an increase in protein consumption correlates to an increase in muscle mass. If you are regularly working out, more specifically strength training, then this correlation is even higher. Proteins, when broken down into amino acids during digestion processes, can help build muscle. In fact, they are the main component of skeletal muscle in our bodies. In addition, protein has the highest satiety levels of all the macronutrients. This means that consuming a meal high in protein will keep you fuller for longer than consuming a meal that is primarily carbohydrates or fat. This is why proteins have been attributed to weight loss. The idea is that if you are consuming a diet high in protein, your body will be fuller for longer, preventing overeating. This is because it takes the most energy to digest proteins in our body. Therefore, the process of digesting proteins goes slower when compared to carbs or fat. According to dietary recommendations, there is no upper limit on how much protein a person should consume in a day. The typical recommendation is to consume about 0.8-1.2 times your body weight in grams of protein per day (about 10-35% of your calories a day). However, to maintain a healthy diet, it is important to incorporate the two other macronutrients into your diet as well. That is to say, the key to weight loss isn’t just consuming as much protein as possible. A healthy diet balances all three macronutrients equally.
The next macronutrient that we will consider on a deeper level is fat. Fats are often mistakenly seen as bad and people often try to avoid them. Although this may be true for some types of fats, incorporating healthy fats into your diet is important to keep a balanced diet. There are several different types of fats, and some are better for our bodies than others. Fats, also known as lipids, are the main source of energy storage in the body. If the body doesn’t have carbs, they become the main energy source at rest or during low intensity exercise. This means that they are essential in providing energy to our body on a daily basis. In addition, they help to absorb an important number of vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E, and K. Fats provide our body with 9 calories for every one gram consumed, and are therefore considered the most energy-dense macronutrient. Fats can come from energy sources like nuts, oils, or avocados just to name a few. People who try to avoid consuming fat often see all fats as equal, when in reality they differ greatly in what they can do for our body. Consuming a healthy amount of unsaturated fats is essential in keeping a balanced diet. Our body can easily break down unsaturated fats and use them to keep us running. Unsaturated fats are the “good” fats. However, it is true that not all fats are helpful. Beware of saturated and trans fats. Our body cannot digest these types of fats in the same way that we break down unsaturated fats and these types of fats can contribute to diseases such as cardiovascular disease. It is best to avoid saturated and trans fats the next time you are at the grocery store looking at food labels. Unsaturated food sources come from things like eggs, cheese, avocado, and nuts. Saturated and trans fats are in foods like butter, cream, and cooking oils. With the exception of saturated fats, other fats are actually essential in our diet. Fats such as Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids act as anti-inflammatories, help with the structure and function of our cells, and promote growth and cognitive development. Dietary recommendations typically say a person should consume 20-35% of their daily calories from fat. In conclusion, the idea that all fats are bad is a myth. Although you should be wary of trans and saturated fats on food labels, fat is something our body needs to survive. Cutting out all fats from your diet will do nothing but harm to your body as they play a role in many different important body functions.
Our last macronutrient to discuss is carbohydrates. The class of carbohydrates is incredibly diverse, but we will stick to the basics. Carbohydrates, like protein, provide our body with 4 calories for every 1 gram. In this way, they are considered less energy-dense than fat. It seems like everyone nowadays is raving about some new low-carb diet. However, the truth is, carbohydrates are as important as any other macronutrient to have a sufficient amount of. Carbohydrates are the primary short-term fuel for the body. They keep your brain functioning and provide us with energy in physical exercise. In fact, carbohydrates are the only thing that can fuel your red blood cells! Common foods to incorporate into your diet containing carbohydrates are things such as grains, vegetables, fruits, seeds, and nuts. Typically, it is recommended to consume about 45-65% of your daily calories as carbohydrates. Low-carb diets are significantly below this recommended intake. Carbohydrates can come in a variety of forms so it is important to incorporate a variety of carb sources into your diet. Glucose, or more commonly known as sugar, is a very important carbohydrate to discuss. Glucose is the most immediate pathway to creating energy in our body. Energy, in the form of ATP, powers our body and allows us to participate in day-to-day activity. When our body does not have glucose to power our activities or physical exercise, it turns to fat and muscle stores. When we think of glucose, we often think of sugar. However, glucose comes from all carbohydrates like bread, pasta, fruits, and others. However, although glucose is essential in our diet, added sugars are something to beware of. Just as trans and saturated fats should be avoided when looking at food labels, so should added sugars. Added sugars are those that have been manufactured and added into the processing stages of creating a store bought product. Added sugars have been proven to have a direct correlation to diseases such as type 2 diabetes. Additionally, diets too high in carbohydrates can lead to more fat storage. Another important carbohydrate to discuss is fiber. Most Americans are not consuming enough fiber on a daily basis. Fiber helps to maintain our weight as it adds volume to our meals. DIetary fiber makes us feel fuller and helps prevent constipation. Increasing fiber in your diet will guarantee you feel fuller for longer. All in all, it is important to keep a balanced diet of all three macronutrients to reach your health and wellness goals.
Now that we’ve taken a deep dive into the three macronutrients, we can now talk about some of the popular diets that have been circulating the internet. I’m sure that we are all familiar with the keto diet. The keto diet is notoriously famous for being low in carbohydrates. The science behind the diet states that consuming a diet low in carbohydrate will result in your body burning more fat as fuel (a process known as ketosis). Consuming a low-carb diet has been proven through studies to lead to weight loss and reduce risk for diseases such as type 2 diabetes. But how sustainable is the keto diet, knowing that we are missing out on one of the key macronutrients? For some people, the keto diet has worked well if your goal is to lose weight as your body turns to fat as a source of fuel. However, there are potential harmful effects of being keto. Going from consuming a good portion of your everyday calories from carbohydrates, as most Americans do, to consuming less than 20 grams per day can be a challenge. Your body is smart and knows what it is missing. In this way, keto has often proven to be unsustainable with a lack of carbohydrates in the diet. A person may start keto, lose a bunch of weight, and then gain it back once they get off of the diet due to the body being deprived of carbohydrates for so long. In addition, not consuming carbohydrates often correlates to a decrease in the consumption of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. These are all foods that we should be consuming on a regular basis as they are packed with essential vitamins and minerals. It is important to talk to a professional before considering switching to the keto diet, as dietary needs vary from person to person. It is also important to discuss some of the benefits and potential harmful outcomes of another type of popular diet, plant based diets. Plant based diets center around consuming vegetables and fruits, which are essential in our diet. However, plant based proteins are often not complete proteins, meaning that they do not contain all of the amino acids that are essential for our body to function. In addition, they may be lacking certain micronutrients or minerals. If you plan on following a plant-based diet, be sure to incorporate a variety of foods to meet all of your macronutrient goals. Again, when considering switching to a new diet, it is always a good idea to talk to professionals. Understanding the macronutrients we are putting into our body is not only for people trying to become “fit” or lose weight. Simply living a healthy lifestyle requires a healthy balance of carbs, protein, and fat. Now that we have taken a deeper look into the various roles of each of the three macronutrients, let’s discuss some of the takeaways. Protein is the most diverse of the macronutrients, and incorporating a variety of protein sources into your diet will ensure your body gets all of the essential amino acids to function. Fats are not always considered “bad” and are essential for functions like transporting vitamins into the body and for long term energy storage. Carbohydrates are a diverse group of macromolecules and are needed for powering you through your busy day or through your workout. Consuming a balanced diet means intaking an adequate amount of all three of these macronutrients in order to maximize both your athletic performance and your day-to-day life activities!