Importance of macronutrients
Most clients expect at least a baseline of nutritional guidance. Are you confident to deliver nutritional education to assist them toward their goals?
Let’s start at the top level, by diving into macronutrients and the categories that exist within them.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are considered the primary / preferred fuel source of the body. They are found abundantly in foods like fruits, grains, and starchy goods. All carbohydrates are metabolised into smaller units called glucose, which give us energy.
There are 3 major classes of carbohydrates:
1. Monosaccharides: The simplest form of carbohydrate, they are referred to as simple sugars because they cannot be hydrolyzed to smaller units.
2. Oligosaccharides: These consist of short-chain monosaccharide units bound together. Sucrose, for example, is a combination of glucose and fructose.
3. Polysaccharides: Often referred to as ‘complex carbohydrates’, consisting of long-chained monosaccharide units that can number from several, into hundreds, or thousands. The main polysaccharides are glycogen, starch and fibre. Starches like this are more slowly digested, providing a more sustained, long term, supply of energy.
Foods that are high in carbohydrates:
Grains
Starches
Fruits
Sugary goods
Fibre
Fibre is an indigestible carbohydrate broken down into two categories, soluble and insoluble.
1. Soluble fibre: This fibre dissolves in water, forming a gel-like paste. This forms within the GI tract and can serve to slow down the absorption of nutrients. This increases the absorption rate of the food as there is ample time to extract the nutrients before passing to the large intestine.
2. Insoluble fibre: This absorbs water and adds bulk to the stool. It also helps food pass more efficiently through the stomach and intestines. Insoluble fibre is also responsible for the absorbing and removal of toxins within the body.
Fibre also helps lower blood glucose levels, and manage cholesterol (by the binding of fibre to cholesterol to prevent absorption by the body).
Dietary fats
Fats (scientifically called lipids) is a collective name given to water-insoluble chemicals in the diet and the body. Fat is an essential nutrient that provides raw material for the formation of cholesterol and phospholipids that comprise the cell membrane. They are also responsible for the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
There are three types of fatty acids: saturated, mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated.
1. Saturated fats
Saturated fat gets a bad reputation due to the link between intake and increased cholesterol. Having high levels of cholesterol increases your risk of cardiovascular disease so a blanket ‘damning’ of saturated fats has arisen by many people who promote so-called good eating.
Cholesterol is responsible for the formation of many essential substances like sex hormones, vitamin D and bile salts. Since an insufficient supply of these substances can have a major effect on your health, it’s still advisable to consume a small amount of saturated fat as part of a healthy diet.
2. Trans fat
Trans fat is a saturated fat that has been changed by a process called hydrogenation to increase shelf life and make it harder at room temperature. Trans fat increases your risk of heart disease by increasing the “bad” LDL cholesterol, while also lowering the “good” HDL cholesterol so a minimal amount of trans fat is advisable.
3. Poly-unsaturated fat
There are two types of polyunsaturated fat considered essential nutrients, omega 3 fatty acids and omega 6 fatty acids. Polyunsaturated fats can help lower your LDL cholesterol and combat insulin resistance.
Omega-3 fatty acids: Because essential fatty acids are not made in the body or are inefficiently converted, we need to get them from our diet. Omega-3 fatty acids play an important role in reducing inflammation throughout the body. Research shows omega-3s can help lower blood pressure and may help with other conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, and depression.
Omega-6 fatty acids: These fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function, as well as growth and development. They also help stimulate skin and hair growth, maintain bone health, regulate metabolism, and maintain the reproductive system.
The ideal ratio of omega 6 to 3 is 4:1 at the highest, with some experts saying it should be 1:1. The typical western diet is around 12:1 and upwards to 25:1.
Once you understand what these are and get to know where they exist in food, you can help your clients to find the right balance.
4. Mono-unsaturated fat
Monounsaturated fats can help reduce bad cholesterol, lowering your risk of heart disease and stroke. They also provide nutrients to help develop and maintain your body’s cells.
Foods high in fats:
Red meat/ oily fish
Oils and butters
Nuts
Egg yolks
Protein
Protein (from the Greek word “proteios” meaning “primary”) is an essential macronutrient.
Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, are the major structural components to all of the cells in the body. There are 20 amino acids that come from either animal or plant protein sources. 9 of them considered essential (We must eat them); the remaining 11 amino acids can be synthesised by the body via carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.
Proteins aid in the production of anti-bodies for immunity, or the production of enzymes that are required for chemical reactions within the body. Protein also makes up fibrous tissue like skin, hair, nails and connective tissue.
Foods high in protein:
Meat
Fish
Eggs
Dairy
Types of Protein
Animal vs Plant Protein
Human tissue composition resembles animal tissue more than plant tissue (obviously). These similarities enable us to use proteins from a single animal source more efficiently than those from plant sources.
For this reason, animal proteins are considered high quality, or complete, as they contain all nine essential amino acids in sufficient amounts.
Plant sources of protein are considered lower quality, or incomplete, because they are either low or missing one or more of the nine essential amino acids.
It is a lot to take in, but it’s hard to describe yourself as a personal trainer or fitness instructor if you don’t understand the way food interacts with the human body.
