Macronutrients – what are those and why they matter?

Every food and most of the beverages we consume on a daily basis consist of macronutrients – compounds that are essential for us, humans to survive. They are not created equal and today I will explain to you in a simple way what are those and why it’s essential to understand them if you want to lose some weight.

Carbohydrates

They are the most common macronutrient out there. A carb can take a form of a simple or complex and there is a world of difference between them.

Simple carbohydrates are those you should avoid the most. You can find them in sugars, corn syrup, soda, juices and basically all processed food and blamed to be the cause of the obesity epidemic (more on that topic later). Consumption of such a carb spikes your insulin to high levels. That spike gives you a sudden burst of energy but also fades quickly eventually leaving you hungry. The second thing is that because of the insulin spike, your body is virtually unable to burn fat in that “mode”.

So does it mean that I should avoid carbs totally? No, but focus on eating complex carbohydrates. You can find them in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans. Even good ol’ rice or corn will do the job. The nutrients from them will be released to your body in more gradual way that will translate to easier hunger and weight management.

Proteins

They are the most essential component of your body. They are made of building blocks, so-called “amino acids”. Believe or not but your body is mostly composed of protein and out of twenty amino acids needed your body can only “produce” eleven.  Nine of them are essential and need to be delivered via food.

Does it mean that I should eat everything that has protein? Not really. Not all proteins are created equal. There are no good and bad protein sources but what differs them it’s their ability to be absorbed by our body. Animal proteins, such as eggs, meat, fish, milk and milk products are considered high-quality. If you are vegan you need to know that the protein you supplement your body is considered low-quality and should pay even closer attention to your meal plan. If you want to study this phenomenon more closely I recommend this site.

Fats

Infamous fats… So many years we were told that fats are bad for you and you should avoid it as much as you can. Well, there are two sides to that story.

Firstly to better understand them we need to divide fats into the good and bad ones. Bad ones are called saturated and trans. They can do some serious harm by raising blood pressure and clogging your arteries. How to avoid it? With trans, it’s better to not consume it at all. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) banned them totally, they need to be clearly labeled on the products containing them as well and you can basically only find them in low quality premade packed food in stores. Other bad fats are called saturated. With those try not to eat big amounts of fatty meats and animal products such as butter, lard, tallow, fatty pork and beef. They can be also found in baked goods hidden under names like palm oil or palm kernel oil.

On the other hand, we have unsaturated fats. They are essential in a well-balanced diet as well as they bring some great health benefits such as lowering risk of clogged arteries. They can be mainly found in :

• avocado
• olive or canola oil
• basically every nut
• seafood

Summing up, remember that “The dose makes the poison”. Everything you put to your body carelessly and without moderation can lead to weight gain and health risks. If you want to learn how to avoid it and how to determine how much particular macronutrient you should eat each day you can do it here: How to effectively track your calories and lose weight in just few steps !