An Easy Guide on Nutrition Basics
Here is an easy guide on nutrition basics. Refresh your memory on essential macronutrients and micronutrients, and learn what a healthy plate should look like.
When I decided to write my blog, I showed the first several posts to my husband. He is known as a very meticulous person, and this is what he said to me: “It’s all nice that you write recipes and explain why are stuff in them good for us, but I want to know how much I should eat and what I should eat, plain and simple. Give some guide on nutrition basics for average readers, so we can all learn something”. So, here is an easy guide on nutrition basics.
Table of contents
What is Nutrition All About?
The course I enjoyed the most during my undergrad studies was Biochemistry. I was excited to learn how our cells work and what happens with the food we consume. I still remember the big sheet of carbohydrate metabolism that our Biochemistry professor made us carry with us to every class. Almost 20 years later, I still vividly remember all of its pathways.
An average person is bombarded with info about nutrition from every corner – internet, TV commercials, health magazines in the grocery checkout lanes, you name it. While it is great to have all the information readily available, it is most important to know what information to trust. A new trend shifts every couple of years suggests a new diet to try and promise excellent results. Some diets work, and some are short-lived. But one thing never changes – the basics of nutrition. No trend will ever change how our body consumes food on a cellular level. So, getting to know the essential components that our cells need for normal function is extremely important.
Below is some important information from this guide on nutrition basics.
Macronutrients and Micronutrients
All the nutrients out there are classified into seven major classes:
- Carbohydrates (grains, noodles, pasta, rice, fruits, starchy vegetables, dairy products)
- Proteins (meats, dairy products, nuts, certain grains, beans, certain veggies, eggs)
- Fats (eggs, avocado, oils, butter)
- Vitamins (A, D, K, E, B complex, C)
- Minerals (calcium, sodium, potassium, iodine, zinc)
- Dietary fiber (fruits, veggies, brown rice, nuts, beans)
- Water
They are divided into two groups, depending on the amount we need to consume and the role they have:
- Macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, dietary fiber, water) – we need them in large amounts and can think of them as fuel to provide energy.
- Micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) – we need them in smaller quantities, and they have essential roles in providing optimal functions of various body components.
We have to consume all these classes of food daily. But, we struggle to learn how much of each we need and what proportions? Nutrition should be all about balance.
Healthy Eating Plate
I never liked that most diet guidelines speak in the language of calories, so counting calories has become a norm for healthy eating/dieting. This is all fine and scientifically makes sense. But, let’s now look into an average reader that cooks three meals a day for a family (or for themself). On average, it takes 30 minutes to cook breakfast, 30 minutes to make lunch, and 1 hr to cook dinner, plus the time to cut all the ingredients. We now have time to calculate how many calories we cut, cooked, and divided into portion sizes? Not me! To meet my daily needs, I would instead learn what proportions of each nutrient group to incorporate into each meal.
According to the new dietary guidelines for Americans, this is the rule we should follow when fixing our plates:
This is easier than counting calories. So, to summarize: pick a medium size plate (and trust me, the plate size is very different in Europe and US.; I was shocked with gigantic dinner plates here in the US compared to my home country), and add:
- ½ fruits/veggies
- ¼ grains
- ¼ protein.
In addition to this:
- Drink plenty of water
- Stay physically active
Easy peasy! If you would like to learn where your nutrition habits fall under the current guidelines, here is a great resource to find out.
The Next Step in Your Nutrition Jurney
When you refresh your memory with nutrition basics, you should consider if the food you are consuming today is healthy enough for your body. Go here to learn the principles of clean eating and why is eating whole foods good for us.
Stay tuned for more info on each class of nutrients!
Great Healthy Recipes to Try
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