A is for apple…
There is a lot of information floating around on the internet on what one should and shouldn’t eat as well as a whole lot of ”Hey follow this amazing diet and watch the pounds melt away!” With all this bombardment of information it can be confusing at best to weed out what is actually a healthy diet. Good thing we have the Canadian Food Guide right? Well… You may want to curb your enthusiasm on that one. I’m going to go over some basic nutrition facts in today’s blog to hopefully help the confused find their way to better nutrition. Let’s start with what food is exactly. Our basic needs in food can be divided into macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are substances required in large amounts in our diet. Micronutrients are substances needed in smaller quantities in our diet. For simplicity’s sake, today’s post will only address macronutrients. Under macronutrients we have the subgroups of carbohydrates, proteins, and fatty acids.
Carbs
First we have carbohydrates (carbs for short), which can be divided into two categories: simple carbohydrates, and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are more commonly known as sugars and complex carbohydrates are basically long chains of sugars and are found in starchy foods such as grain-based foods and root vegetables. There is often a misconception that carbs are the evil spawn of the devil and must be avoided at all costs. Here is the truth about carbs: No, they are not the devil incarnate, in fact your body needs carbs as it is the most efficient source of energy for your cells. That being said, in today’s society we often eat way too many carbs than we need, especially sugar. This is where we get problems such as obesity and diabetes, as well as setting the stage for a whole slew of other diseases down the road. So, what is the proper amount of carbohydrates one should eat in a day? Well it will have a lot to do with the amount of energy you are expending throughout the day, as well as your age, gender, and current health situation. But the basic recommendation remains at 3 small portions daily. (See graph at the end of article). Now, I do want to make it clear that the carbs that I recommend people to eat excludes sugary and refined foods such as white bread, white pasta, pastries, candies, etc. Instead, opt for whole foods such as fresh fruit, root vegetables, whole grains and maybe the occasional buckwheat pancake! For those of you who prefer to look at numbers, here’s a chart of suggested carbohydrate intake based on activity level.
Protein
Next, we have the building blocks of our bodies: proteins. Proteins are made of long chains of molecules called amino acids, of these amino acids 8 of them are said to be essential because our body cannot synthesize them. Proteins are of course found in meat and fish but is certainly not limited to these. You can find protein in many plant sources such as legumes, nuts, seeds and grains. Proteins are important for muscle and organ structure which is why they are called the building blocks of our bodies. They are also used as messengers in the body such as neurotransmitters and play enzymatic roles. The average active adult needs about 1g of protein/kg of weight. This of course can vary depending on the level of exercise that you are doing and also your age and gender. If you are planning on gaining muscle mass and are exercising a lot you will need more. Women tend to need a bit less than men. If you are considered a sedentary person, meaning not active, your basic protein needs are 0.75g/kg of weight. If you are into body building you can go up to 2.2g/kg. As always you should prioritize organic food for your sources of protein.
Fatty Acids (Fats)
This is another category that’s received a lot of hate over the years. Hopefully the fat-hate fad has died out by now, because folks if you haven’t heard the news yet: fats are important to your health! Fatty acids are the main components in all our cells in our body, especially the brain! Now under the category of fatty acids we have several different types: Phospholipids, cholesterol, Saturated Fats, Trans Fats, Monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats. Before your eyes get all twirly, let me break it down for you via this diagram. Phospholipids are the main constituents of our cell walls. They look like this:
As you can see one of it is made up of 2 fatty acid tails the straight zig-zaggy one is the saturated fat, and the one on the right is the unsaturated fat. So now that you know what the structure of these two fats look like I can explain what this means in terms of nutrition. Saturated fats are found in butter, coconut oil, avocados, animal fats, nuts, etc. Now as you can see from the diagram above, the unsaturated fats are characterized by having a kink in them (Mono = 1, Poly = more than 1). Monounsaturated fats such as omega-9 can be found in olive oil and avocados. Polyunsaturated fats include Omega-3’s which can be found in seaweed, fish, chia seeds, flax seeds, and hemp seeds. They also include Omega-6’s which can be found in vegetable oil, canola oil, nuts, and grains. These are the important fats that play important structural roles in our body, as well as maintaining cardiovascular health and regulating inflammation. “But wait, hang on a minute, you didn’t talk about trans fats!” You might say. This is because trans fats is the only bad fat that we shouldn’t consume. You see, the structure of the tails of the phospholipid is what make our cells malleable and flexible. Trans fats have a kink just like the unsaturated fats, but on the wrong side! This would completely disrupt the structure and functions of the cell membrane. So, if you see trans fats on the label, it’s not real food, throw it out. “Ok, but what about cholesterol isn’t that really bad too?” NO. Cholesterol also plays an important role in cell wall structure and hormone production, the cholesterol we eat has very little to do about the cholesterol that shows up in our blood test. This might sound confusing at the moment, but I promise to explain this in more detail in a separate article. So what’s the bottom line here? Go eat some fat! Don’t be afraid to include that avocado in your salad, have some nuts for your snack, have those eggs and bacon for breakfast… Wait, no. Scratch that last one. “AW COMON! You just said fat was good!” True, but that does not mean you get to go ham on the bacon (no pun intended). Bacon does not count as a good source of fat because it generally has sulfites and other preservatives linked to the development of colon cancer, not to mention you basically deep-fry it which changes the fat and the protein. That crispy brown goodness that forms when you cook bacon? Yeah, that substance is highly carcinogenic (prone to cause cancer). Fat is good, but we have to make sure it is good quality and cooked appropriately. Saturated fats can tolerate higher temperatures so it is best to use coconut oil or ghee for cooking purposes. Unsaturated fats are more sensitive to heat and should primarily be used as is for salad dressings and such. Some, should even be preserved in the fridge to prevent them from going rancid too quickly such as omega-3’s. So here are some take-home tips when you shop for oils: privilege raw, organic, first pressed, extra-virgin oils. This is the highest quality you can get. Keep them away from heat and light to extend their lifespan. And make sure you are getting omega-3’s in your diet! You may even need to supplement them if you feel like you aren’t getting enough.
Fiber
Fun fact: fiber is actually long chains of complex carbohydrates that we are unable to digest! However, our friendly gut bacteria love to digest it for us. So, in addition to keeping our friendly gut bacteria happy and healthy, and by extension our digestive health, it also helps with the formation and expulsion of healthy stools. Don’t know what I am talking about when referring to friendly gut bacteria? Don’t worry, I’ll write a whole article on it later. To get back to our fiber, there are two different categories we must have in our diet: Soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber can be found in oats, barley, chia seeds, flax seeds, and fruit. It tends to attract water and turn into a slimy or gelatinous substance during digestion which helps bulk up the stool. The insoluble fiber is found mostly in vegetables and helps to keep your intestines clean by stimulating bowel movements. It’s important to get copious amounts of both types of fiber to ensure a healthy digestion. In summary, this is what your plate should look like:
Last minute tips:
- Try to eat at least 5 different colours in a day, and I don’t mean opening a bag of skittles, I am mostly talking about fruits and vegetables.
- Try to include some raw vegetables in your diet every day.
- Fruits and water should be taken outside of meal times, so either a half hour before a meal or 2 hours after.
- Organic. Organic. Organic.
- Last but not Least: ENJOY YOUR MEAL! Take the time to eat and enjoy your delicious and nutritious food. Seriously, you will digest it better!
I hope this blog has shed some light on the basics of nutrition. Stay tuned for part 2 where we shall explore the mighty micronutrients! If you want to book a session with me, click here. have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to leave them below and I will try and respond in a timely manner!