If you are conscious about your health and want to increase your knowledge about what a human body consumes and how the organs of the human body function, then you must learn about the things that are essential. You must have heard about the term Macronutrients in your life. This guide is prepared to understand the term “Macronutrient”. What is Macronutrient? The answer lies within this post.
What is Macronutrient?
Macronutrients are essential nutrients that we humans consume in large quantities to function different organs and the human body’s system. Vitamins, minerals are the terms used to describe Macronutrients in the real-world. You must have heard about these terms as we all used to hear them or we already know about them.
What is Macronutrients
Macronutrients are very important for humans as they provide the required energies in the form of calories. Macronutrients can be categorized into three different parts: Fats, carbohydrates, and Proteins.
Each of these Macronutrients has specific roles in human bodies which is why they are very important and should be consumed by each one of us to stay healthy and fit. Let’s understand the roles of these Macronutrients one by one.
Roles of Macronutrients in Human Bodies
Macronutrient 1: Fats
Fat stores energy and helps bodies make different types of hormones to support the organs. There are three different types of fats available in the human body. Let’s collect more information about them.
Trans Fat
Trans fat is harmful to your heart. Trans fat increases bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol results in creating heart-related issues. It is considered the worst type of fat and most humans should avoid consuming trans fat.
What Is Macronutrient – Trans Fat Foods
If you eat more trans fat in your daily life, then the chances of suffering from heart diseases increases. Trans Fats produces through an industrial process where hydrogen is added to vegetable oil. Here, we have listed down the foods that contain Trans Fat. If you are eating them regularly, then be a little cautious.
List of Trans Fat Foods
- Frozen Pizza
- Baked cookies, cakes, pastries, etc.
- Popcorn
- Friend Foods
- Vegetable Oil etc.
Saturated Fats
Saturated Fats have hydrogen molecules and they have no bonds with carbon molecules. Saturated Fats are in solid form at room temperature. Just like the Trans Fats, Saturated Fats are also considered bad for your heart. If you consume foods packed with saturated fats daily, then chances of increases heart attack or stroke risks are high.
What Is Macronutrient – Saturated fats
Saturated fats come from animals. Non-vegetarian people consume a high amount of saturated fats daily. Some dairy products also contain saturated fats. Here, we have listed down all the food products that we consume daily which are the good sources of saturated fats.
List of Saturated Foods
- Pork
- Beef
- Poultry with Skin
- Dairy products such as butter, cheese, etc.
Apart from this, some oil-based products also contain saturated fats in low volume. We better stop consuming these items daily.
Unsaturated Fats
Unsaturated Fats have one double bond that causes bends in the molecule. Unsaturated found in liquid form at room temperature. The bonds are saturated with hydrogen atoms. Unsaturated fats are good for human bodies as they are in the liquid form and can be easily digested by the body. Unsaturated fats decrease the risk of heart attack compared to the other two types of fats.
What Is Macronutrient – Unsaturated Fats
List of Unsaturated Fats
- Seafood
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Avocados
- Olives etc.
Macronutrient 2: Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are known as Carbs which are made from sugars, fibers, and starches. Carbs are considered as the primary source of energy for the entire human body organism.
What Is Macronutrient – Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates have hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates are made from two different compounds known as ketones and aldehydes. The energy comes from the chains that the carbs create within the human body. Carbs are created differently and for that reason, they can be categorized into two different types i.e. Simple and Complex Carbs. Let’s collect some useful information about these two different types of Carbs.
Types of Carbohydrates
Type 1: Simple Carbs
Simple Carbs are very supportive of human bodies as they can be broken down easily for energy consumption. Simple carbs are present in sugary items such as sweet, molasses, yogurt, fruits, etc. Fruits have all types of Macronutrients which include natural sugar called fructose as well as vitamins and other essential minerals.
Type 2: Complex Carbs
As the name says Complex Carbs take more time to breakdown as the molecules are hard for the human body to break. Complex Carbs are typically found in grains and starches such as rice, bread, potatoes, peas, etc.
Basically, Carbs are present in all the other types of plant foods and vegetables, but in a lower amount compared to the grains.
What Is Macronutrient – Complex Carbs
Good Carbs Vs Bad Carbs
Depending on their sources, Carbs can be classified as Good and Bad Carbs. Carbs that we get from natural products such as grains, vegetables, plants, fruits, etc are known as good carbs as they contain all the essential vitamins and minerals which are healthy for the body.
On the other hand, Bad Carbs are the type of Carbs that we consume from junk foods or processed food products. Bad Carbs don’t contain essential vitamins and minerals cause bad effects to your body.
Macronutrients 3: Protein
Proteins are made from different amino acids founds in plants and animals. Proteins are of different types and a human body contains a thousand types of proteins to help organs run smoothly. They help human muscles to rebuild and provides proper strength to the body.
What Is Macronutrient – Protein
Protein is essential for every human being and it should be consumed daily. Proteins help in rebuilding body muscles, hair growth, glowing skin, nails, etc. If you are a fitness freak, then you must be aware of the Proteins. Proteins help in building muscles and weight management.
According to studies, an average human being should consume 0.75 grams of protein per kg of his body weight. If your weight is 100 kgs, then you should consume 75 gms of protein in a day. If you are working out in the gym, then you should consume extra gms of protein for muscle repairing and rebuilding.
What Is Macronutrient – Protein for body
The Bottom Line:
Macronutrients are essential for every human being to stay healthy and fit. Make sure you add food products from all the groups. You can get the right information about different food groups and the number of Macronutrients contains each food by searching on National Agricultural Library (NAL). You can also get information about macronutrients and their advantages through some mobile apps. Eat good, stay healthy!
