Carbohydrates, fat and protein are called macronutrients. They are the nutrients you use in the largest amounts. “Macronutrients are the nutritive components of food that the body needs for energy and to maintain the body’s structure and systems

Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals needed by the body in very small amounts . However, their impact on a body’s health are critical, and deficiency in any of them can cause severe and even life-threatening conditions.

Carbohydrate (Carbs) molecules contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates play an important role in the human body. They act as an energy source, help control blood glucose and insulin metabolism, participate in cholesterol and triglyceride metabolism, and help with fermentation. The digestive tract begins to break down carbohydrates into glucose, which is used for energy upon consumption. Any extra glucose in the bloodstream is stored in the liver and muscle tissue until further energy is needed. Carbohydrates is an umbrella term that encompasses sugar, fruits, vegetables, fibers, and legumes. While there are numerous divisions of carbohydrates, the human diet benefits mostly from a certain subset.

Fats are nutrients in food that the body uses to build cell membranes, nerve tissue (including the brain), and hormones. The body also uses fat as fuel. If fats eaten aren’t burned as energy or used as building blocks, they’re stored by the body in fat cells. This is the body’s way of thinking ahead: By saving fat for future use, it plans for times when food might be scarce.

• Protein is an important part of a healthy diet.
• Proteins are made up of chemical ‘building blocks’ called amino acids.
• Your body uses amino acids to build and repair muscles and bones and to make hormones and enzymes. They can also be used as an energy source.

Vitamins are essential for a properly functioning metabolism. The body is unable to produce most vitamins by itself, so it needs to absorb them through food. We need 13 vitamins in particular. An overview of the key information is below.

The body needs vitamins to survive. They may not supply any energy, but they play an essential role in the human metabolism. All foods contain a certain amount of vitamins. However, as a general rule, the fresher and less processed your food, the better. Some vitamins are sensitive to heat, light or oxygen, which can lower the vitamin content of food. This means it’s important to prepare fruit and vegetables carefully. Unlike minerals, vitamins can be produced synthetically. Synthetic vitamins have the same chemical structure as natural vitamins and therefore have the same effect. If vitamins are synthetically added to foods, these are known as fortified foodstuffs.

In human nutrition, 13 vitamins play an important role. The body can produce vitamins D and B3 itself, but all other vitamins need to be absorbed through food. Vitamins are either water-soluble or fat-soluble. The technical term for the latter is “lipophilic vitamins”. They are most easily absorbed in combination with fat, such as olive oil. The body stores these vitamins up in fat tissue and the liver. As a result, it is less apparent if we occasionally consume less of these vitamins, or even develop a deficiency. Water-soluble vitamins are known as “hydrophilic vitamins”. They are distributed in parts of the body containing water, such as the blood and intercellular space. The body is unable to store water-soluble vitamins, with the exception of vitamin B12.

Minerals are those elements on the earth and in foods that our bodies need to develop and function normally. Those essential for health include  calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine, chromium, copper, fluoride, molybdenum, manganese, and selenium.