Nutrients are essential components of food that provide the body with energy and the building blocks it needs to function properly. They can be divided into several groups, including carbohydrates, fats, proteins, alcohol, vitamins and minerals. All of these nutrients your body needs.
Nutrients can be divided into the following groups:
- Carbohydrates - Fats - Proteins
provide energy and are essential nutrients (macronutrients).
- Vitamins - Minerals
Do not provide energy themselves, but are essential nutrients
(micronutrients)
- Alcohol
Provides energy but is not an essential nutrient
Carbohydrates are hugely important to the human body:
- Supply 40-80% of energy intake
- Carbohydrates are the main source of energy stored in muscle cells in the form of glycogen
Types of carbohydrates
Carbohydrates can be divided into:
- simple-
- multiple-
- digestible-
- indigestible carbohydrates
All carbohydrates are broken down during digestion into simple sugars, also called glucose. Glucose, derived from carbohydrates, is the body's main fuel and is used by the brain and muscles. Glucose enters the body's cells through the blood, then the glucose is burned in these cells. This releases energy.
Effects of glucose deficiency
A glucose deficiency can have adverse effects. When the body experiences glucose deficiency, glucose is formed from amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). In practice, this means that the body breaks down amino acids into glucose. This leads to the breakdown of muscle tissue.... The regulation of blood sugar levels is closely regulated by the hormones insulin and glucagon, produced by the pancreas.
Consequences of glucose abundance
The consequences of glucose abundance are simple: this is stored by the body as fat.
How is the glucose level in your blood regulated?
The glucose level in the blood is strictly regulated by 2 hormones: insulin & glucagon. These hormones are produced by the pancreas:
- Glucagon: raises blood sugar levels by stimulating the breakdown of glycogen in the liver and muscles,
- Insulin: also called "the key to the cell. Insulin lowers blood sugar by prompting muscle and fat cells to store glucose as glycogen in the liver and muscles.
A hormonal imbalance can lead to problems such as:
- carbohydrate addiction
With prolonged or very frequent high blood sugar levels, the body responds. Production of the body's own "opiate" (Endorphins and Serotonin). Similar effect to other hard drugs. Thus addiction.The body knows very quickly that these "drugs" are produced as soon as bad carbs are eaten (indirectly) addiction to starch and sugars. Very much underestimated mechanism! Virtually all people with obesity are carbohydrate addicts.
- insulin resistance
Insulin production regularly too high due to eating bad carbs (can also be precursor to diabetes). Cells do not absorb insulin anymore/worse - so glucose levels in blood remain high. This causes even more insulin to be produced. The only cells that do not show insulin resistance are fat cells at abdominal level → glucose is stored as fat. Increased glucose level gives a feeling of hunger → one eats more → again more insulin → vicious circle.
Fats: an important store of energy
Fats provide us with energy and are also stored in the body as a source of energy. Fats are an important building material for the body. For example, we need fats to build and protect cells and they ensure proper functioning of the brain, eyes and muscles, among other things.
The functions of fats:
- building material of our cell membranes, among other things
- insulator of the body against the cold
- transport medium of eg hormones
- solvent for the A,D,E,K vitamins that are not soluble in water.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol has an important function in the human body. For example, cholesterol is necessary for the production of new body cells and is the raw material for certain hormones and the production of bile. The liver makes most of the cholesterol for the body and the rest is taken from our food.
Cholesterol is an organic compound and a fatty substance.
Protein: building blocks for a healthy body
Protein is both a nutrient and a building material for our body. It is present in both animal and plant sources. Animal protein is found mainly in meat, fish, dairy products such as milk, cheese and eggs. Plant proteins are found in foods such as bread, grain products, legumes and nuts.
Our bodies are largely made up of proteins, but the proteins we get through food have a different composition from our bodies. Therefore, they are broken down into peptides in the stomach and then into amino acids in the small intestine, with the help of enzymes. These amino acids are absorbed into the blood through the intestinal wall and used to build all the proteins our body needs.
Proteins can be compared to a necklace of beads where all the beads are present but not yet in the correct order. Our body cuts this chain into pieces and then puts the beads in the correct order.
Proteins in our bodies are constantly being broken down and rebuilt, a process that takes place in the liver, intestines and muscle tissue. About 70% of the amino acids from our diet are used, while the rest are excreted through urine or converted into energy.
Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, consist of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and sometimes sulfur molecules. There are numerous forms of amino acids in nature, making each protein unique because of the many possible combinations. The human body can contain a total of 22 different types of amino acids, which are linked together in different ways.
Foods rich in protein include:
- meat, fish, chicken, eggs
- dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt,
- soy products such as tofu and soy milk,
- legumes such as beans, lentils and capuchins,
- nuts and peanuts.
Vitamins and minerals
Vitamins and minerals are very similar, yet there is an important difference. Vitamins are organic, meaning they come from living organisms and are produced by certain animals or plants.Minerals are inorganic, meaning they come from dead organisms and are taken up by animals or plants from the earth or from food or water. We distinguish two groups of vitamins:
1. The fat-soluble vitamins (vit. A, D, E and K)
2. The water-soluble vitamins (other 9).
Most of the water-soluble ones simply disappear through urine, but the fat-soluble ones are stored
in the tissues (accumulation). Especially vitamin D accumulation dangerous; bad for heart, kidneys, blood vessels (higher than 100 mcg).
Other nutrients and their role
Alcohol provides energy but is not an essential nutrient, and excessive consumption can lead to health problems.
In short, nutrients are crucial for a healthy body, and a balanced diet that contains all necessary nutrients is essential for maintaining good health and well-being.
