In order to survive, the human organism needs to take in oxygen, water, and food. We can survive only about three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Because food is so important to our survival, it's been studied extensively.
But, to some extent, the focus on nutrients rather than food has confused many people. A basic understanding of the nutrients can give us a helpful background of our discussion about food.Ultimately people eat food, not nutrients.
Dietary carbohydrates are combination of sugar units that come in both complex and simple form.
Simple carbohydrate include monosaccharides, or single sugar units like glucose or fructose. As well as disaccharides, or two-sugar units like sucrose, or table sugar. complex carbohydrates, or polysaccharides, include dietary starches that our body can digest and breakdown, and indigestible polysaccharides that make up dietary fibres. During the process of digestion, carbohydrates are broken down and converted to glucose, which can be metabolized by the body to produce usable energy in the form of ATP. If energy demands are low, glucose can be stored, and most of the time it is stored as adipose tissue.
Dietary proteins are also broken down into their component part, amino acids, during the process of digestion. These amino acids and build and repair the lean tissues in the body and perform many other important functions. But amino acids can also be broken down and used for energy. And if they're consumed in excess, they can contribute to fat stores in the body as well.
Dietary fats can also be broken into smaller components and used for energy. Or, they can be stored as adipose tissue, depending on our energy needs.
Fats are most energy dense storage form, providing nine calories of energy for every gram, and alcohol provides seven calories per gram. In contrast, carbohydrates and proteins provide only four calories per gram. This is one of the reasons we've evolved to store excess nutrients as adipose tissue, and this brings us to the underlying physiological cause of overweight and obesity. Any calories that aren't converted into usable energy in the form of ATP are stored in the body for later use. Most of the time they are stored as adipose tissue. So disturbing the energy balance to favour energy expenditure over energy storage need to be one of the priorities for people who are trying to loose excess weight. This can be achieved by consuming fever calories, burning more calories through exercise, or a combination of both. But in addition, when long term health is the end goal, the quality of food matters just as much as the number of calories we consume. Within each category of macronutrients, we need to choose foods that support our health, rather than working against it.
But, to some extent, the focus on nutrients rather than food has confused many people. A basic understanding of the nutrients can give us a helpful background of our discussion about food.Ultimately people eat food, not nutrients.
Dietary carbohydrates are combination of sugar units that come in both complex and simple form.
Simple carbohydrate include monosaccharides, or single sugar units like glucose or fructose. As well as disaccharides, or two-sugar units like sucrose, or table sugar. complex carbohydrates, or polysaccharides, include dietary starches that our body can digest and breakdown, and indigestible polysaccharides that make up dietary fibres. During the process of digestion, carbohydrates are broken down and converted to glucose, which can be metabolized by the body to produce usable energy in the form of ATP. If energy demands are low, glucose can be stored, and most of the time it is stored as adipose tissue.
Dietary proteins are also broken down into their component part, amino acids, during the process of digestion. These amino acids and build and repair the lean tissues in the body and perform many other important functions. But amino acids can also be broken down and used for energy. And if they're consumed in excess, they can contribute to fat stores in the body as well.
Dietary fats can also be broken into smaller components and used for energy. Or, they can be stored as adipose tissue, depending on our energy needs.
Fats are most energy dense storage form, providing nine calories of energy for every gram, and alcohol provides seven calories per gram. In contrast, carbohydrates and proteins provide only four calories per gram. This is one of the reasons we've evolved to store excess nutrients as adipose tissue, and this brings us to the underlying physiological cause of overweight and obesity. Any calories that aren't converted into usable energy in the form of ATP are stored in the body for later use. Most of the time they are stored as adipose tissue. So disturbing the energy balance to favour energy expenditure over energy storage need to be one of the priorities for people who are trying to loose excess weight. This can be achieved by consuming fever calories, burning more calories through exercise, or a combination of both. But in addition, when long term health is the end goal, the quality of food matters just as much as the number of calories we consume. Within each category of macronutrients, we need to choose foods that support our health, rather than working against it.
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