The human body needs food to function. Food is our body’s fuel – our source of energy. We need food and it nutrients to maintain life and promote cell and tissue growth. The building blocks of our diet provide our sources for energy, biochemical support, and the medium in which our nutrients can function. These essentials for life include the macronutrients – carbohydrates, proteins, and fats; the micronutrients – vitamins and minerals, so important to our body chemistry; and water – solvent for all soluble ingredients in the blood and cells.

Water is the number one nutrient and makes up by far the largest percentage of the body’s volume, 60%.

Carbohydrates are the main source of your body energy and many carbohydrates are in the body not just as fuel but also as communication devices. They play an important role in helping to regulate the metabolism of protein and fat. Carbohydrates provide 4 calories per gram. According to the Institute of Medicine, children and adults should consume 45 to 65 percent of their calorie intake as carbohydrates, or at least 130 grams of carbs per day.

Protein is an essential part of nutrition, second only to water in the body’s composition. It makes up about 20% of our body weight and is primary component of our muscles, hair, nails, skin, eyes, and internal organs, especially heart muscle and brain. Biochemical deficiency can occur when there is lack of enzymes, the protein molecules that catalyze chemical reactions in the body (Ref. Staying Healthy with Nutrition). Proteins provide 4 calories per gram. Children and adults should consume 10 to 35 percent of their  intake calories from protein.

Fats, lipids, are the third man class of macronutrients pessary in human nutrition. There are two essential fatty acids that we must consume in food: linoleum acid (LA) an omega 6 fatty acid; and Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega 3. A good diet ratio for omega 6 and omega 3 should be  between 2:1 and 4:1. Fats provide 9 calories per gram. Children and adults should consume 20 to 25 percent of their intake calories from fats.

Vitamins are essential for growth, vitality, and health and are helpful in digestion, elimination, and resistance to disease. Vitamins,  approximately 1% of the body weight, are classified into two categories: water-soluble and fat-soluble. Water-solble vitamins include mainly many B vitamins and vitamin C. They commonly are found in the vegetables and fruits, and not stored in our body to a large degree, so they need regularly in our diets; Fat-soluble vitamins include vitamin A, D, E, and K, which are found in the lipid component of both plants and animal-source foods. These fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in the body tissues, so we can function for longer periods of time without obtaining them from the diet than we can without the water-soluble ones.

Minerals are basic constituents of all maters, part of living tissue as well as existing in their inorganic form in the earth. Approximately 4% of body weight is mineral matter. The healthiest approach for assuring optimum mineral levels is to get the majority of them from wholesome foods and water.

The special supplements, such as enzymes, anti-imflammatory, antioxidants, probiotics, bone and joint strengtheners, etc.  is one of our seven body building blocks. They are part of healthy diet.

We get all these essential nutrients from fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, dairy foods, and meats – basic food groups that comprise our diet.

 

Ref.: National Academies of Science Engineering Medicine, 2002