Not knowing the relationship and differences between carbs, proteins, and fats will at some point in your life, regardless of your genetics, commit you to a life of not being healthy.
That might sound like a strong statement but lets quantify it. Over eating over time will lead to the body breaking down. Over eating will leave more energy (sugar) floating in your system. Your body will begin to raise insulin levels as a way to lower the sugar floating around (in your blood) and store it. High levels of insulin over time leads to inflammation which causes degradation. Degradation leads to disease:
- Heart attacks1
- Diabetes
- Vascular Issues1
- Glaucoma2
- Alzheimer’s4
- Dementia
These are all promoted from over producing insulin over time. If you’re fat you don’t control insulin very well. The lifetime risk of developing diabetes for U.S. individuals born in 2002 is about one in three for the general population, but about one in two for the Hispanic population.3
Macronutrients
Food is made up of macro and micro nutrients. Macronutrients being protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. This article is focussing on the macronutrients which is what provides us with energy and other vital functions.
Calories are a unit of measure to quantify energy. Here is the caloric breakdown for the 3 different macronutrients:
- Carbs: 4 calories per 1 g
- Protein: 4 calories per 1 g
- Fat: 9 calories per 1 g
Carbohydrates
Carb’s (carbohydrates) are used to fuel the body. If you’ve ever felt faint or sluggish and then ate something with sugar and then felt energized, that is sugar which is a carbohydrate doing its job (providing you with energy). Aside from sugar, there are also complex carbohydrates which is a type of carb that takes longer to digest. As previously mentioned, too many carbohydrates is a bad thing and finding a balance is crucial.
Carbs are stored in the body in two forms: as glycogen in the liver (roughly ⅓) and in skeletal muscles (roughly ⅔). Your glycogen stores provide you with energy during physical activity. Those stores are replenished when you eat a meal with carbohydrates but once the storage is full, they are converted to and stored as fat.
Protein
Breaking protein down further it is made up of 20 different standard amino acids. 9 of these amino acids are essential which means you are required to consume them. Proteins are made up of linked chains of these amino acids. Protein is responsible for making muscle tissue, hair, nails, enzymes, hormones, an antibody in the immune system, and other bodily chemicals. Although not as easily as carbohydrates, protein can also be used as energy.
Fats
Fat is another energy source but also nourishes the nervous system, maintains cell structures, regulates hormone levels, helps your body absorb nutrients, and more.
Type of fat:
- Saturated fat: fat that’s solid at room temperature. It’s found in meat, dairy products, eggs, bacon fat, butter, and coconut oil.
- Mono and Poly Unsaturated fat: liquid fat, olive oil, avocado, nuts, and fish. Often known as the good fats.
- Trans fat: baked goods, fried foods, and some types of margarine. A bad fat that is actually banned now from products in some countries like Canada.
The Takeaway
While there aren’t any essential carbohydrates, all 3 macronutrients are crucial to your health and perform important functions in the body. A balanced diet with the appropriate ratio of macronutrients is essential for staying healthy. However, what that balance is between carbohydrates, protein, and fats is can still be up for debate. Often ideal ratios vary depending on lifestyle, genetics, and individual needs.
- DiNicolantonio JJ, OKeefe JH Added sugars drive coronary heart disease via insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia: a new paradigm Open Heart 2017;4:e000729. doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2017-000729
- Dada T. Is Glaucoma a Neurodegeneration caused by Central Insulin Resistance: Diabetes Type 4?. J Curr Glaucoma Pract. 2017;11(3):77-79.
- Narayan KM, Boyle JP, Thompson TJ, Sorensen SW, Williamson DF. Lifetime risk for diabetes mellitus in the United States. JAMA. 2003;290(14):1884-90.
- Watson GS, Craft S. The role of insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease: implications for treatment. CNS Drugs. 2003;17(1):27-45.
