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Role of Macronutrients
What are the role of macronutrients? Macronutrients are nutrients that provide our bodies calories or energy. The three macronutrients are carbohydrates, protein, and fats.
They are considered energy nutrients because they all provide carbon, which can be burned for energy production.
Most carbohydrates provide four calories of energy per gram. Some types of fiber, which is a type of carbohydrate found in many plant foods, provide two calories of energy per gram, and sugar alcohols, which are also a kind of carbohydrate, contains 0 to 3 calories energy per gram.
Carbohydrates mainly function as a source of energy, but they also have a few other functions. They extra protein used as energy, which is important because protein have many other life functions.
Carbohydrates can also be stored as energy in the form of glycogen, which is an excellent storage form because it can be easily converted back to glucose and used for energy.
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The body does have a limited storage space for glycogen, about 2000 calories worth, and fiber, a type of carbohydrate which was mentioned earlier, aids in digestion and some types of fiber good for gut bacteria.
For most individuals, it's recommended that carbohydrates make up 45 to 65% of their diet, so based on a 2000 calorie a day diet, this would be 900 to 1300 calories, or 225 to 325g of carbohydrates per day. And some quality foods high in carbohydrates include fruits, vegetables, and whole grains such as wheat, corn, rice, oats, and quinoa, to name a few. Now for protein. While protein can provide energy, it has many other important functions as it helps to make up hormones, which are chemical messengers that travel throughout the body, coordinating complex processes that often involve the interaction of several organs.
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Protein is also important in building and maintaining tissue, which is why the protein requirement is higher for growing children and athletes.
Protein create enzymes, which works as catalysts, Proteins also helps make up antibodies, which fight against bacteria and viruses in the body, and transport proteins enable nutrients to go to the right tissues.
For most individuals, it's recommended that protein makes up 10 to 35% of their diet. So based on a 2000 calorie a day diet, this would be 200 to 700 calories or 50 to 175g of protein per day.
However, for athletes and extremely active people, this needs to be higher. Some foods high in protein include animal meats such as beef, pork, fish and chicken, eggs, and dairy products, and there are plenty of plant foods also high in protein, as nuts, bean and seed. Now for fats. Fat provides nine calories of energy per gram, so more than double that of carbohydrates or protein.
While fats provide quite a bit of energy, it also has many other important functions. It insulates the body, as there is a thin fat layer underneath the skin that keeps heat inside the body, maintaining proper temperature.
This layer protects the inner core from temperature. Fat also surrounds major organs and acts like a cushion absorbing shock from a sudden impact, and it is also needed to absorb certain vitamins.
Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat soluble, which means without fat they could not be absorbed into the body, and certain fats have nutrients the body needs.
Essential fatty acids are fats the body cannot produce itself, so we must get them from food. For most individuals, it's recommended that fat makes up 20 to 35% of their diet. So based on a 2000 calorie a day diet, this would be 400 to 700 calories, or about 45 to 75g of fat per day.
However, it is recommended to minimize saturated and trans fats, and some foods high in good quality unsaturated fat and essential fatty acids include fish oils, many types of nuts, seeds,vegetable oils such as olive oil and oil of avocado.