When considering ideal nutrition, we can’t overlook the importance of macronutrients, the primary building blocks of the diet. Macronutrients provide calories, which the body uses to make energy, making them essential for life. However, ratios and proportions of macronutrients remain controversial, likely because different populations and individuals benefit from various target distributions.
You may not be surprised to learn that the diet that works for you may be as unique as you are. Our goal is to help you discover your personalized YOU diet. So, this article won’t cover counting macros or the best macro tracking app. It will cover the macronutrient basics you need as you establish and fine-tune your personalized nutrition plan.
This article will explore:
Let’s start with the basics: What are macronutrients? The three macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates, and fat. All are essential for life and provide calories. Each also plays specific roles in the body’s structure and function, which we’ll discuss more below.
What are macronutrients vs. micronutrients? Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. They are also essential for life and promote specific functions in the body. However, micronutrients are required in much smaller amounts and don’t provide calories.
There’s no way around it: your body needs macronutrients, all of them. Both excessive or deficient macronutrient intake, either individually or collectively, is associated with adverse health outcomes. While different dietary philosophies prioritize specific macronutrients, be wary of any system that eliminates or drastically reduces any single macronutrient.
There’s no way around it: your body needs macronutrients, all of them. Both excessive or deficient macronutrient intake, either individually or collectively, is associated with adverse health outcomes. While different dietary philosophies prioritize specific macronutrients, be wary of any system that eliminates or drastically reduces any single macronutrient.
Your body can turn each macronutrient into energy, which is vital for maintaining all body functions. However, beyond calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fats play critical roles in your health.
Carbohydrates (carbs) are sugars and starches (made from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen), which convert to or break down into glucose, the primary energy currency in the body. Carbohydrates influence blood glucose (blood sugar) levels and insulin metabolism. The body stores glucose, as glycogen in the muscles and liver, and releases it overnight or anytime more blood glucose is required.
All carbohydrates come from plant foods, as plants turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into sugar. Carbohydrates also include fiber, which is not digested or absorbed (and has no calories), but instead positively influences digestive health and the gut microbiome.
The Institute of Medicine recommends a minimum carbohydrate intake of 130 grams per day, with carbohydrates providing 45 to 65% of calories.
Protein is composed of individual nitrogen-containing amino acids. Each amino acid plays specific roles in human physiology and can combine into particular body proteins that make up the muscles, bones, neurotransmitters, hormones, enzymes, and more. Because protein makes up so much of the body’s structure, dietary protein is essential for growth, development, and longevity.
Some amino acids are essential, meaning they must come from the diet. Others are non-essential, and your body can make them out of essential ones. Dietary protein comes from both plant and animal foods.
Ideal protein intake remains controversial. The RDA (recommended dietary allowance) for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. However, this recommendation is designed to help prevent deficiency and isn’t necessarily the optimal amount for health. Newer research suggests that higher protein intake is required to maintain lean body mass, support weight loss, and promote longevity. It’s challenging to eat more than 20 to 25% of daily calories from protein because it’s very satiating.
Dietary fats are the other macronutrient source, providing calories, energy storage, cell membrane structure, steroid hormones, cellular communication, brain and nervous system structure, and more.
Both animal and plant foods contain fat, and some fatty acids are essential and must be obtained from the diet. The omega-3 fats, EPA and DHA, aren’t officially essential, but it can be challenging to eat enough of them.
A healthy diet includes 25-30% of calories from fat, although some nutritious diets go higher than this as well. As we’ll discuss shortly, the source of the fats needs consideration along with the amount.
It’s easy to get caught up in tracking macros and hitting the best carb-protein-fat ratio, but nutrition is more than a numbers game, the sources of macronutrients matter. Whole foods provide macronutrients, but also vitamins, minerals, fiber, phytonutrients, and more. Processed food strips away much of the nutrition in a food, often leaving only the macronutrient.
It’s easy to get caught up in tracking macros and hitting the best carb-protein-fat ratio, but nutrition is more than a numbers game, the sources of macronutrients matter.
If you don’t want to count macros or worry too much about calories, make sure that most of your diet is whole foods. You’ll feel more full and satiated when your body gets everything it needs and it becomes easier to trust your hunger cues. Let’s look at some whole food macronutrient examples.
Carbohydrates:
Protein:
Fats:
Your acceptable macronutrient distribution may look different from your friend’s, and that’s okay. Begin by focusing on whole foods and getting healthy carbohydrates, protein, and fat at each meal. From there, there is much room for personalization and optimization based on your health and weight goals.
If you’re ready to dive in, The Fork is here to support you!
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