Meet The Macronutrients
Diets. Atkins, South Beach, Palio, Fasting, Low-Fat, Low Calorie, Low-Carb, No Carb, High Protein, Gluten Free, Organic, Vegitarian, Vegan, and the list goes on and on.
What to do? Where to start?
First, I NEVER recommend dieting, I mean, it starts with "die", doesn't it? Lets not focus on a diet. Lets focus on nutrition.
When we focus on nutrition we are doing the most important thing: getting healthier! By focusing on nutrtion we focus on what we are putting into our bodies as fuel, and even as medicine. Let's look at the macro-nutrients first: Protein, Carbs, and Fats.
I'm sure you've heard good things about protein and you've probably heard that carbs and fats are the enemy at one time or another. Simply not true. I'm going to go through what each does in the body for you.
Protein: Let's look at the darling of the weight lifting world first. Proteins are made up of amino acids. There are 22 standard amino acids, 9 of these are considered essential amino acids because these must be obtained from food. We don't make them ourselves. When we ingest protein we break the protein down into amino acids through digestion. A food considered a complete protein contains all 9 essential amino acids. Examples are: meat, eggs, milk, and eggs. Foods containing proteins which do not contain all 9 EAAs are incomplete amino acids. Examples are: rice, beans, and tofu. Does this mean that a vegan cannot get what they need protein-wise? Absolutely not! A vegan eating a diet with many different grains, fruits, nuts, seend, and veggies will get a little here and a little there throughout the day. No problem.
Why are proteins important? Every cell, tissue, and organ in the body contains protein. These proteins are constantly being torn down. The protein we eat is stored to replace these proteins in our bodies. When you are sore the day or so after a workout it is due to microscopic tears in the muscles. We are breaking the mucle down to build it back up. Proteins come to the rescue and help that process. A good quality protein is a great idea shortly after a workout, within an hour is generally recommended.
Fats: Fats are broken down into catergories: saturated, unsaturated, and trans fats. Saturated fats are generally solid at room temp, like butter. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temp, like olive oil. Both are naturally occuring. Trans fats on the other hand are man-made. Trans fats also increase the risk of heart disease.
So there are good fats and bad fats. Natural fats and unnatural fats. Fats are important and they do not make you fat. I promise.
Stay away from the bad man made fats though. NO TRANS FATS, please, but don't shy away from an avacado or some almonds. Without fats you cannot absorb vitamans A, D, E, and K. Fats contribute to healthy skin and hair, insulate the organs against shock, and protect you agains various diseases. Fats provide essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids control inflamation, blood clotting, and brain development. If you've ever gone on a very low fat diet you've probably experienced at least some brain fog because your brain needs fats.
Carbs: Carbs are commonly broken down into either simple or complex carbs. Another way to think of carbs is by using the glycemic index which rates them as either fast or slow. Fast carbs raise blood sugar quickly, while slow carbs raise blood sugar more slowly. Don't rely on this exclusively. Some slow carbs can be worse for you nutritionally than some fast carbs. Within the body carbs make glucose. Glucose gives you energy. Fast carbs generally give you energy more quickly, but it burns off rapidly as well. You will also get hungry again quite soon. Slow carbs are a slower burn, so to speak. A combination of both slow and fast are generally a good idea.
If I were to tell you to reduce your carbs I would mean refined carbs; cookies, cakes, chips, white bread, etc. we don't need those at all. (actually, I would not put it that way. I would tell you to cut the processed food and sugary crap) You can throw them out .. Carbs found in nature are fabulous! They contain fiber, and we need both soluable and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is in oatmeal, fruit, and beans to name a few examples. Insoluable fiber is found in foods such as whole wheat, veggies, bran, and fruit among others. Assuming you aren't diabetic or intolerant of gluten there is no reason to cut these things out of your diet. These "good" carbs can be a good pre-workout nutrient.
These are the macro-nutrients. We need them all, but how much of each? Is there a better time to consume them? Need we combine them in a certain manner? Well, I don't know. Everyone is different. Everyone has different goals. Typically getting 30% of your calories from protein, 30% from fat, and 40% from "good" carbs is pretty good. I didn't just make up these number. This is largly accepted. According to Susan Kleiner, R.D., Ph.D. a diet with less than 40% carbs increases depresson while a diet with around 40% helps fat loss. She also found that diets with less than 25-30% fat lowers coping skills while raising anxiety and hostility, and diets with 30% protein improves mood. You can read her work in her book The Good Mood Diet. Just remember, no one has the answer for everyone. We're talking in generalities in this paragraph. If you train with me I may recommend something slightly different. If you have any questions about macro-nutrients drop me a line.
In Health,
Tanna
