Essential Nutrients

I wanted my first blog to be about what I tell everyone and that is " know your nutrients".

The reason being is the importance of Essential Nutrients. I don't think we really know we need them or know enough about them. We focus so much on the calorie amount of our food and not the nutrition part of it or FAD diets tell us to skip one or have more of another.

At one time I was so focused on the fat content that I ate everything that was fat free. Little did I know fat, good fat that is, wasn't the enemy. It was all the extra unnatural junk that made up for the fat that was taken out. Needless to say I didn't know what all those fancy named ingredients were.

The term Essential Nutrients describes nutrients that the body needs but cannot produce at all or in adequate amounts. The six classes of these are Carbohydrates, Fat, Protein, Water, Vitamins & Minerals. Essential Nutrients are necessary for human life. An inadequate intake may lead to disturbed body metabolism, certain diseases and in extreme cases-death.

These six essentials are divided further into two other categories based on their roles of how much our bodies need. Carbs, Fats, Proteins & Water are called Macronutrients because we need them daily  in amounts greater than a few grams. Vitamins and Minerals are called Micronutrients because we need them daily in amounts less than a few grams.
The USDA & Health Canada have all the information on each website.