MACRONUTRIENTS 101: all you need to know about fats, carbs, & proteins

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MACRONUTRIENT METABOLISM

Think of macros like a campfire: carbs burn like fire-starters, fats burn like logs, and proteins are like the stool (best for structure/function, but can be burned if needed).

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CARBOHYDRATES

PURPOSE: "the fire-starters", quick fuel

DETAILS:

• energy stored in monosaccharide chains or rings

• 4 calories per gram

• can be simple (sugar) or complex (fiber)

• carb tolerance is bioindividual

• processed sugar is damaging (whereas whole food sugars are not)

• glucose consumption impacts blood sugar and insulin levels

STRUCTURE: monosaccharide rings

METABOLIC OPTIONS:

• burned for fuel

• stored as glycogen (muscles & liver)

• converted & stored as fat

SOURCES:

• grains, beans, & legumes

• vegetables (esp starchy)

• fruit

• dairy (lactose)

• natural: honey, maple syrup, etc

• processed: corn syrup, cane sugar, sucrose, etc (minimize consumption)

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FATS & LIPIDS

PURPOSE: "the logs", long-term fuel, build cell membranes & hormones

DETAILS:

• energy stored in fatty acid chains, typically attached to glycerol molecule

• 9 calories per gram

• can be saturated, polyunsaturated, or monounsaturated

• processed oils are damaging (whereas whole food fats are essential)

STRUCTURE: fatty acid chains

METABOLIC OPTIONS:

• burned for fuel

• used to build membranes/hormones

• stored in adipose cells

SOURCES:

• animals & fish

• dairy & eggs

• nuts & seeds

• olives

• coconut

• avocado

• processed oils: corn, soy, canola, etc (minimize consumption)

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PROTEINS

PURPOSE: "the stool", build structures, hormones, neurotransmitters, & enzymes

DETAILS:

• composed of amino acid (AA) chains (polypeptides)

• 4 calories per gram

• can be complete (all AAs, animal sources) or incomplete (plant sources)

STRUCTURE: chain of amino acids

METABOLIC OPTIONS:

• used to build structures

• can be converted to glucose if needed

• AAs not stored (extras excreted)

SOURCES:

• plants: nuts & seeds, beans & legumes, grains

• animals & fish

• dairy & eggs

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Macronutrients

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References

Haas, E. M; Levin, B. (2006). Staying Healthy with Nutrition: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine. Celestial Arts.

Jones, D. S., Bland, J. S., & Quinn, S. (2010). Textbook of Functional Medicine. Institute for Functional Medicine.