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What are macronutrients?
Macronutrients are made up of three types of molecules: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats - each playing a specific roles in your body.
Knowing your way around each macro, and figuring out your own macronutrient gang for your body's needs, is like having the secret recipe for health and happiness.
Picture this: inside your body, there's a whole party going on, and it's called Cellular Respiration. It's where all the nutrients go to get turned into pure energy.
Bur during this process only certain molecules are used easily (like glucose), while others take their sweet time (like fat). Hear's how all your macronutrients break down (no pun intended):
3 Macro Triad
- fat (9 cal/g) - the heavyweight champ
- carbohydrate (4 cal/g) - the popular kid
- protein (4 cal/g) - the muscle-builder
- alcohol (7 cal/g) - the party animal
So, these macronutrients are like the rockstars of energy. Once they're in your system, they get all dressed up and transform into a fancy "fuel" for your body to rock 'n' roll.
Basically, every bite you take, whether it's a juicy steak or a mountain of fries, plays a part in the blood sugar rollercoaster, which then sets off a chain reaction of wild and wacky metabolic adventures in your body.
CARBOHYDRATES
4 cal / gram
So, picture this: insulin resistance is like the body's way of saying, "I have no idea what to do with this insulin stuff!" It's a worldwide phenomenon now, causing all the cool kids' diseases like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and even coronary heart disease. It's like the body is on a permanent vacation from processing insulin properly!
Now, let's talk about carbs, a.k.a. the energy source for all living beings. They're like the fuel that keeps the brain, muscles, and organs running smoothly. Carbs are the ultimate influencers of blood sugar levels, playing a key role in the fancy process called "cellular respiration" and the creation of the sugar superstar, glucose.
Carb-rich foods are like the popular kids at the lunch table - grains, fruits, veggies, and legumes. There are two main types of carbs: the simple ones (the processed sugar divas) and the complex ones (the smarty-pants grains and starches).
Now, here's a fun way to remember them:
- simple carbs = processed sugars & refined flours
- complex carbs = grains & starches
Simple Carbs
Scientifically speaking, sugars are called saccharides. There are only two types of simple carbs: 1) monosaccharides (the solo artists) and 2) disaccharides (the dynamic duos). The "mono" means one, and the "di" means two - it's like a sugar party lingo!
If carbohydrates are the popular kids, then simple carbs are the athletic popular kids. These are the guys always quickly transforming into energy, and standing in front of the mirror flexing.
They're the fast-action crew that sends blood sugar levels on a rollercoaster ride, triggering insulin to join the party and keep things in check.
Now, we all know blood sugar spikes aren't ideal, but sometimes you just need a simple carb pick-me-up. We'll spill the beans on that lil' secret later.
Monosaccharides
These are the solo sugar boys, like the Beyoncés of the sugar world - glucose, fructose, and galactose. They're the real MVPs of the sugar game and love getting all the flavor's attention.Glucose
Found in fruits, veggies, honey, and even corn syrup, glucose is the VIP guest that all the ladies -- uh, we mean plants and animals -- need to survive. It's like the life of the sugar party, and everyone wants a taste.
Fructose
From fruits to honey, fructose is the sweet talker of the group. This one may not always be the first to arrive, but when he does his game is smoother than a peach skin.
Galactose
Galactose is the dairy darling. Usually found hanging out with another farm animals in the dairy isle, Galactose is the sugar wingman. He may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he'll always be there for you.
Disaccharides
If sugars are the athletic popular kid, and monosaccharides are the single sugar boys, these are the popular kids in couples. Chemically bound together for a rollercoaster of sweet challenges, they're complicated but they still know how to get the blood sugar dance started!
There are three types of disaccharides: maltose, sucrose, and lactose.
Maltose (glucose + glucose)
The beer fans love this pair. Granted they're not everyone's cup of tea, maltose is like the exotic sugar found only in sprouted grains. Its a little on the rebelious side and loves when things get wild.
Sucrose (glucose + fructose)
Hands down the most popular couple in town. This is the couple that somehow manages to be invited to every party, and who you somehow run into at every event. Sometimes a little overpowering, Sucrose is without a doubt known by everyone.
Lactose (glucose + galactose)
These are the southern bells and charmers. Maybe it's because they love dairy products, or maybe its because its love, these are the milkshake of sugars, blending sweetness with a hint of dairy goodness!
Now, too many carbs can lead to insulin overload, like a party gone wrong. If blood sugar levels throw a never-ending bash, metabolic issues might crash the party, like insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes arriving on the scene.
Insulin resistance is like the body's confused bouncer who mistakes insuline as the enemy and kicks them out of the party. This leaves the house unable to handle the enormous rush of sugar. Now the neighbors start complaining which leads to drama with the Diabetes. But thanks to fancy glucose monitors sugar surveillance can be done by anyone.
Complex Carbs
Imagine if Simple Carbs were the cool athletic kids in high school, then Complex Carbs would be the sports they excel at.
They are like a clique of sugars that always stick together, forming groups of 2 or more, which we affectionately call polysaccharides, or simply, Poly.
Polys come in 3 varieties: starch, glycogen, and fiber.
Starch
Starches are like the strongmen of the group. They love lifting heavy weights but are not the quickest on their feet.
They warm up slowly and take their sweet time to soften. While some may find them a bit plain on their own, once they get spiced up (or fried), they become the life of the party.
Glycogen
Glycogen is like the athletes playing contact sports – football, soccer, boxing, you name it. Mostly found in the muscles and liver, everyone enjoys watching Glycogen in action.
However, they tend to get injured often and need some downtime to recover, so their season is usually short-lived.
Fiber
These are like the couch potatoes of the group. They don't contribute much to physical activity, but boy, can they clear a room. That was a bean joke, by the way.
PROTEIN
4 cal / gram
Proteins are essential for the growth, maintenance, and repair of most tissues in all animals.
Proteins are involved in various functions, such as building and repairing muscles, producing enzymes, hormones, and supporting the immune system.
Protein is one of the most fascinating and intriguing aspects of nutrition because there are hundreds of them, and we still discover newfound importance today.
Of the hundreds of amino acids found in nature, only 22 are essential to life, meaning they are found in all living organisms.
What's even more fascinating is of those 22 amino acids essential to life, we humans only synthesize 13, the remaining 9 must come from our diet.
In this article we won't discuss all 22 essential amino acids, but we will provide a list of the 9 for ease of reference.
9 essential amino acids
Phenylalanine
Valine
Tryptophan
Threonine
Isoleucine
Methionine
Histidine
Leucine
Lysine
Complete Protein
When we talk about protein most of us visualize a slab of meat, like maybe a burger or a steak.
This type of protein is considered a complete protein, as it contains all 9 of the essential amino acids. Examples of protein rich food sources include meat, fish, eggs, (some) dairy products, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
In general a person should consume roughly 0.5-1.0 grams of protein/lb of bodyweight.
Incomplete Protein
Most other forms of protein, like plant proteins you find in foods such as beans, are considered incomplete forms of protein due to their lack of the 9 essential amino acids.
Fat
9 cal / gram
Fats are concentrated sources of energy (calories), also called lipids, which aid in the absorption of certain vitamins, provide insulation and protection to our organs, and are essential to brain function and cognitive health.
Examples of healthy sources of fats include avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish. There are approximately 3500 calories in 1 pound of fat. Walking burns roughly 0.04 calories per step.
All living organisms on Earth have the ability to produce fat cells, but only vertebrates have the ability to produce fat stores in adipocytes (i.e. fat cells within the skin).
That being said, fat mass in the human body can accumulate in 3 main types of stores: white, brown, and beige.
White Fat
Sometimes used in reference to “skinny-fat”, this type of fat sits inside the body and surrounds the organs.
This is what causes the marbling of steaks and gives the visual appearance of “fat”. It’s primary role is to protect the body against physical harm and store lipids for later metabolism.
Brown Fat
This type of fat actually dissipate stores energy in the form of heat. It is how mammals are able to temperature regulate (thermoregulate).
Babies have the highest concentration of brown fat which may be attributed to the drastic temperature change experienced at birth.
Adults loose the vast majority of their brown fat stores due to lack of use and can be attributed to living in temperature controlled environments as well as a lack of exposure to chronic cold.
Those who maintain chronic cold exposure, such as Scandinavian outdoor workers who experience extreme cold temperatures daily, maintain significantly greater brown fat stores.
Beige Fat
This is a very “new” type of fat with limited understanding and research. It shares similar thermoregulatory properties to brown fat, but remains slightly different ways of activation. Its presence seems to have a positive correlation with diabetic resistance due its their ability to process lipid and glucose into heat energy.
What are macronutrient ratios?
Use a pre-set ratio (i.e 40/60/20) or try this macronutrient calculator.
With an understanding of how nutrients work with the body, we can now use our knowledge to create a personalized breakdown of what, and how much, we should eat to meet our goals.
A macronutrient ratio is a specific ratio (percentage) of calories as they relate to our macros (protein/carbs/fats).
The following is an example of calorie distribution:
For example:
Let's assume we have someone who weighs 150 lbs, eating 1600 calories/day we can solve for total caloric distribution. Because we know that we need to consume anywhere from 0.8g/lb - 1g/lb of bodyweight, we can figure out how many total calories should come from protein first:
- 0.8g/lb/day x 150 lb (bw) = 120g/day
- 120g/day x 4/cal/g = 480 cal/day (protein)
- 480/1600 = 0.3(100) = 30% protein
We now know that eating 0.8g/lb of bodyweight would account for a total of 30% of our target total caloric intake for the day.
This means we have 70% of total daily calories remaining for fat & carbs.
If our goal involves maintaining lean mass, we would want to have an even balance in calories between the two, making our ratio (30/45/45).
Now that we know our ratio, we need to
find out how many calories remain for practical purpose:
70% / 2 = 45%
1600 x 45% = 720 cal
Let's solve for grams of carbs (g/cal) first:
720 cal/carbs / 4 cal/g/carb = 180 g/carbs
Let's solve for grams of fat (g/fat) next:
720 cal/fat / 9 cal/g/fat = 80 g/fat
So, no we know that for a person who weighs 150 lbs, wants to maintain weight, and is consuming a total caloric intake of 1600/cal per day, they would need to eat a distribution of 30/45/45 (protein/carbs/fat) which equates to 120 g of protein (or 480 calories), 180 grams of carbs (or 720 calories) and 80 grams of fat (or 720 calories).
You now know how to calculate a macronutrient breakdown using nothing but your goals, estimated caloric expenditure, and bodyweight. Now we know that not everyone feels confident enough with mathematics to figure all this out, so we made a macronutrient calculator to help you.
Using the macronutrient calculator
