Names, functions, and sources of essential macro- and micronutrients.

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Welcome back!  After my last post I challenged myself to find a new recipe that was healthy.  I just wanted to share that with you before I jump into my new topic.  It was for “skinny” orange chicken and let me tell you it was awesome and if I can make it you can make it.  http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/skinny-orange-chicken-recipe/ 

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Moving on into the depths of the nutrition world, this blog post is going to give you more information on the names, functions and sources of essential macro-and micro-nutrients.  Macro-nutrients provide us with energy and calories, they are needed by our bodies to promote growth, metabolism and other functions and the three types of macro-nutrients are carbohydrates, protein and fat (McKinley Health Center, 2014).  

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Carbohydrates are the one type of food that most people eat in excess.  Think of potato chips and just about any of the other foods that are white and you will have a nice list of foods that have carbohydrates in them.  Carbs are found mostly in grains, potatoes, fruits, milk, yogurt, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and cheeses (McKinley Health Center, 2014).  Without carbs in our diets, we will not get the energy that is needed to fuel our bodies and other vital organs will also lose their functionality.

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Protein is something that just about everyone is familiar with.  Protein comes from lean meats, fish, cheese, nuts and certain vegetables.  A lot of people jumped on the bandwagon with the protein diet because it fostered weight loss in large amounts because it was removing carbs from your diet.  The only downfall to that is when you begin eating carbs again, your weight comes back.  Even body builders ingest a large amount of protein because it can help to build lean muscle mass when used with a good diet and exercise program.  

The last macro-nutrient is fat.  While fat gets a bad rap, we actually need about 20 – 35% of our daily caloric intake to come from fat in order to have normal growth and development (McKinley Health Center, 2014).  Fat is the one nutrient that is never hard to find.  It comes in oil, lard, meat, chicken and even in your salad dressing.  Rather than shying away from all fat, just make sure to eat it in limited amounts.

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Micro-nutrients are just as important as the macro-nutrients because without them, our overall growth and health would be affected.  Micro-nutrients are the vitamins and minerals that we ingest from the foods that we eat.  For the people that are unable to eat the vitamins and minerals that they need, there are vitamins that they can take to ensure that their bodies do not suffer from deficiencies.  Some of the vitamins that can be found in micro-nutrients are Vitamin C, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Folic Acid, Biotin, Beta-carotene, Vitamin D3, and Vitamin E (Dr. Matthias Rath, 2015).  Many people receive monthly or even weekly B12 injections from the doctor’s office if they have a deficiency.  Some of the minerals found in micro-nutrients are Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium and Phosphorus.  A combination of the required micro-nutrients can help strengthen your immune system, which alone is a good enough reason for me.

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In keeping up with my former blog posts, I am issuing this challenge for myself and anyone else that wants to try it.  The challenge is to create a meal or snack that is high in macro- and micro-nutrients.  If you have trouble doing that, I challenge you to start taking a daily multivitamin and after a week really think about how it has affected your mood and your body.

Dr. Matthias Rath. (2015). List of Micronutrients. Retrieved from http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/open_letters/img-nyt0506/micronutrients.htm

McKinley Health Center. (2014).  Macronutrients: the Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat.  Retrieved from http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/macronutrients.htm

The factors behind our food choices

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If you are still following this blog then congratulations because you have now lasted through two posts that discuss important facts about nutrition as well as my own personal struggle with eating right and finding the time to exercise.  So far through my personal challenges that I have made for myself, I have challenged myself to exercise at least once a week and to eat the recommended daily amount of fruits.  I can honestly say that I have been able to maintain the exercise however; I am still struggling with eating the suggested amount of fruits.  It does not sound like a lot but when you think about it two cups of fruit a day is quite a bit.  I am doing good to eat two cups in a week.  Do you struggle with eating the suggested amount of fruits?

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This brings me to my next blog topic which is about the factors that drive our food choices.  Are we born programmed with a certain food interest or do we develop food interests over time?  Our food choices and interests are the result of several factors that can include social, psychological, philosophical and physical factors.  Take for example social factors.  In my last blog post I mentioned parties and weddings as certain social settings that can affect our food choices.  I have a friend that lives out of town and when I get to see her we usually end up meeting at a restaurant to catch up over dinner.  We do not usually eat salads at this dinner either and because we tend to stay at the restaurant for such an extended amount of time we tend to eat more than we would at a normal meal.  Other social contributors to our food choices can be as simple as being at a friend’s house and being offered food or drink and feeling like you have to accept it.  Just remember that if you find yourself in this situation, it is ok to say no.

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One of the next factors contributing to our food choices is purely psychological.  When we are happy we may eat one thing and when we are sad or stressed out we tend to find the hidden chocolate or the tub of ice cream.  “Food might help you to cope with negative feelings in the short-term.  In the long term, however, coping with stress by eating can actually increase negative feelings because you aren't actually coping with the problem causing the stress.  Further, your self-image might become more negative as you gain weight.” (Cleveland Clinic, 2015)  If a person feels that they look disgusting they tend to either stop eating or eat in very small amounts which also contribute to the psychological factor.  Philosophically speaking,   these same psychological factors are also philosophical.  Depending on your mood or state of mind you may want to seek out the mac & cheese that your grandmother used to make for you or you may also seek out other comfort foods that are familiar to you.  While this may be ok to do if it is not something you do every day, just remember that even though these foods are comforting at the time they are not always the best choices you can make for your overall health.

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The last main contributing factor that drives our food choices is all physical.  Are the items that you eat within a ten to fifteen mile radius of your house?  Do the foods that you eat consist of recipes that you know how to make or things that are easy to put together?  Last question, are your food choices made based off of time meaning it only takes a few minutes to do?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you have made food choices based off of physical factors.  It’s not a bad thing however it can sometimes limit you to eating the wrong things more often.  I am bad about this myself.  I am not very good in the kitchen, my knowledge of recipes is limited and if it takes forever and a day to make I typically stay away from it.

Due to my lack of expertise in the kitchen, my challenge for myself this time will be to seek out a new recipe that is healthy and something I have never tried or made before.  If you are like me and have limited kitchen experience, I urge you to find your own recipe and share it on this blog so that myself and others that are struggling can learn something new.

Cleveland Clinic. (2015). The Psychology of Eating.  Retrieved from http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/healthy_living/getting_fit/hic_Maintaining_a_Healthy_Weight/hic_The_Psychology_of_Eating