Step by Step Guide to Dominate Your Health
It is all about that balance here in the land of nutrition. I am going to break down some of the most important factors to remember when deciding on what type of diet you are going to partake in. My goal is to teach you why it is very important to have a balanced macronutrient and micronutrient diet. Playing with fad diets can alter your health in the long term so lets go over why these macronutrients and micronutrients are important to consume so ideally we can all be conscious in how we eat.
Macronutrients are what we eat to provide our body with energy in order to actually function.
Carbohydrates
Fats
Proteins
Water
Micronutrients are what is inside the macronutrient rich foods that aid in repair of muscles, absorption of nutrients, and helps fight of disease and sickness.
Vitamins
Minerals
Digestion is the process of breaking down our foods into smaller enzymes that our cells can read and therefore send proper signals to the brain. Our brain will aid in telling the GI tract and our lymphatic system what our bodies need, so that our body can absorb proper nutrients, where to send those nutrients, and what will be turned into waste.
What are the functions of digestion?
Ingestion and Digestion
Digestion and Absorption
Absorption and Elimination
Elimination
What organs produce and secrete substances that aid in the digestion process?
Liver and Gallbladder
Bile Ducts and Pancreas
Small Intestine
CARBOHYDRATES: Digested, Absorbed, transported, and used
Our body’s break down carbohydrates into simple sugars. The most important component in digestion of carbohydrates is breaking down monosaccharides into glucose. This is because single sugar monosaccharides are the building blocks to complex carbohydrates. Complex Carbohydrates make glycogen. Glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrates.The stored form of carbohydrates provides us the immediate energy to do all that we want to do in our lives.
Why is Glucose so important?
Glucose supplies our cells with energy. Glucose has a major job inside the blood so that our body is provided with adequate energy to our cells and organs at all times.
Why is Glycogen so important?
Glycogen is the most readily available source of energy for our muscles and our body’s functions. Glycogen is critical for endurance, performance, strength, and power. It lets our muscles actually fire when we tell it to.
Other Carbohydrate functions in the body.
Body’s most important source for energy.
Carbohydrates must be present to metabolize fats in high intensity exercise.
Helps spare muscle tissue.
Primary source of energy in the nervous system
Nerve cells can only get energy from glucose in the blood stream, therefore if carbohydrates are not consumed to create glucose the nervous system will suffer.
*There are several other important sugars and complex processes through the digestion of carbohydrates in the body… I just wanted to provide you with a quick breakdown as to why carbohydrates are important.
FATS: Digested, Absorbed, Transported, and Used
Fats are made up of carbon, Hydrogen, and oxygen atoms and have a job similar to carbohydrates, but are very different. We call fats lipids in the body and are insoluble in water. Lipids are mostly identified in the body as triglycerides. Lipids vital job is to assimilate and collect triglycerides. Triglycerides also aid in energy production, vitamin and mineral absorption, and digestion.
Why are triglycerides so important?
Triglycerides are vital for the body in the energy reserve function. Basically when we run out of our energy from carbohydrates we will rely on fats/triglycerides for energy. Triglycerides are a component of glycerol and fatty acids. Glycerol and fatty acids derived from triglycerides are very important in the process of our bodies actually using fats that we eat most efficiently on the molecular level.
Other important factors of having fats in our diet.
Fats can make glucose inside the liver if necessary.
Fats create visceral and subcutaneous fat in our body that protects vital organs and aids in thermal regulation.
Fats help in the transportation of many substances through out the blood stream including vitamins and minerals.
Fats take longer to digest therefore can make us feel full with eating less amounts.
*There are several other important functions of the breakdown of fats in the process of digestion… My goal is to provide you with the simplest approach to understanding the importance of having quality fats inside your diet.
PROTEINS: Digested, Absorbed, and Used
Proteins are the least macronutrient used for energy, although is vital to maintaining structure in our body. The biggest chemical component derived from proteins are Amino Acids. We have essential amino acids and non essential amino acids, which means only some amino acids our body can make on their own and some can not.
Why are amino acids so important?
Amino acids are what proteins are made from therefore are essential when the body needs to fix something, amino acids can bond together in many different forms to perform exactly what the brain and gut are needing. Amino Acids have the ability to transform into exactly the form it needs to fix something, but only if one is eating a rich diet full of a variety of proteins. This will ensure the body has adequate essential and non essential amino acids to actually perform this transforming duty.
Other important functions of needing proteins in the body
Structure to muscles
Regulation of cell function
Maintains the body acid base balance
Aids in transportation of nutrients
Serves as a last resort for energy
Hormones are derived from proteins
Aids in immune function
*There are several other important functions proteins have in the body during the process of digestion. I just wanted to deliver to you the basics of understanding for retaining why they are a vital component to our diet.
Balance of all these macros in our diet is vital to overall health and longevity. Balancing out our macros help aid us in the absorption and accumulation of micro nutrients. There is so much necessary components and jobs all the nutrients have within our bodies most importantly on the molecular level. If ultimate health, optimal energy, and essential performance is the long term goal assessing these properties will help guide you to earning a life of energy and joy abundance.
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