Nutrients

You've heard the word or at least seen it - nutrient.  What is it exactly?  Obviously, it has something to do with nutrition - right.  Nutrients are, basically, chemicals derived from food that our bodies use for energy, structural materials (bone, etc.), and regulating agents for growth, maintenance, and tissue repair.  Hmm, pretty important stuff those darn nutrients.  Nutrients are broken down into various categories, depending on what is being discussed:

• Macronutrients are those nutrients that our bodies need in large amounts such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins (macro=large);
• Micronutrients are the nutrients that our bodies need in smaller portions such as vitamins and minerals (micro=small);
• Essential nutrients are nutrients (chemicals) that we require from outside our bodies.  In other words, our bodies can't produce them or we produce them in too small quantities to meet physiological needs -- there are approximately 40 essential nutrients, by-the-way;
• Organic nutrients - no, not like organic produce but it relates to the nutrients that contain at least 1 carbon molecule.  These are the vitamins of which there are 13.
• Inorganic nutrients are nutrients that do not contain any carbon molecule.  These are the minerals and there are only 16 of them that are known to be essential in human nutrition.

Now that we have all of that cleared up, I'd like to discuss these nutrients :D  You knew that was coming, right?  Right.

There are six classes of nutrients required by our bodies.  They are:

1. Carbohydrates - macronutrient; provides energy; organic
2. Lipids (aka fats) - macronutrient; provides energy; organic
3. Proteins - macronutrient; provides energy; organic
4. Vitamins - micronutrient; organic
5. Minerals - micronutrient; inorganic
6. Water - inorganic

 NOTE: There are other compounds in foods that our bodies utilize (fibers, phytochemicals, etc.) but these are not considered nutrients...just wanted to clarify that.


Macronutrients. When the body uses carbohydrates, fats, and proteins for energy or fuel, the bonds between the nutrient's atoms break and releases the energy into our bodies.  Some of the energy is released as either heat or it's used to send electrical impulses (messages), to synthesize body compounds, and to move muscles.  If either of these macronutrients is not used up in the body, what do you think happens?  Yep, it gets stored in the body for some day in the future when the intake is inadequate or during the night while you sleep or even for in-between meals.  Speaking of which, your body continues to use energy (your brain especially) while you sleep therefore depleting stored reserves and helping you to lose weight - that's why it's so important to get enough hours of sleep if you're trying to lose weight!  And, did you know that our brains (since we've sidetracked a bit about that fine organ) use glucose for fuel and that our bodies produce that from the carbohydrates we eat?  The only animal product that has enough carbohydrates for this are dairy products...take that, Atkins dieters. Click here to learn more.  These same macronutrients (carbs, protein, & fats), also provide the foundational materials to build tissues and regulate many of the body's activities/functions. (FYI - Protein is NOT a major energy provider but is more of a structural building block. It also helps to regulate digestion and metabolize energy.)
 
Vitamins. Obviously, vitamins don't directly provide energy to the body but they do play their part. These little (micronutrients) powerhouses help the macronutrients release their energy and they do a bunch of other things throughout the body too.  Each of the 13 vitamins has a starring role in the body because almost every action in the body requires the help of vitamins.  Also good to know - vitamins can only function properly if they are intact.  Their molecular organic complexity makes them vulnerable to being destroyed by heat, light, and chemical agents!  This is why steaming veggies for a very short time (or eating them raw) is a preferred and healthier method of preparation.  Just for fun, here are the 13 vitamins: 

1. Vitamin C (water soluble);
2. Eight (8) B vitamins (water soluble) - thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B6, B12, folate, biotin, and pantothenic acid;
3. Vitamin A, D, E, & K (fat soluble).

 Minerals. These also don't fuel the body's energy needs but they are important to the body's structures.  There are only 16 known essential minerals in human nutrition, even though they are studying others to figure out if they have a significant function.  Being inorganic, minerals are pretty much indestructible but they can bind to other substances that might get in the way of the body being able to absorb them.  They can also be lost during food-refining processes or when cooking because they seep into the preparation water that is thrown out. Major minerals are equivalent to macronutrients in that they are needed in large amounts and trace minerals are needed in smaller amounts.

1. The major minerals are: calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, & sulfate.  For more information on the major minerals, go here.
2. The trace minerals are: iron, iodine, zinc, chromium, selenium, fluoride, molybdenum, copper, & manganese.  To learn more about trace minerals, go here.

 Water.  Everyone has heard of how important water is to the proper function of our bodies, right?  It must be really important if a 150lb body contains about 90lbs of water! It's used in metabolic reactions, helps transport vital materials to cells, helps carry away cell waste products...it's really important.  We can go (on average if we're healthy) about 8 weeks without food but we can die in a matter of hours without water.  

So, drink your water and make sure you're getting all of your nutrients!

All information on this blog is my own pursuit of information on the road to getting my BS in Nutrition Science and as a mode of studying. Most information and data was taken from my textbook "Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition" by Rolfes, Pinna, & Whitney, ISBN-13: 978-0-495-55646-6

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Milestones! Oh, and Potassium!

     So this week I was able to hit a few milestones in taking charge of my own health.  I've been eating a vegan diet now for just under two months and I got my cholesterol tested last week to see what sort of effect my new eating habits have had on those numbers.  I was pleasantly surprised (and a little not surprised) to learn that my cholesterol numbers had dropped significantly enough to astound my doctor's nurse (who was the one calling me with the results).  My total cholesterol dropped 54mg!!  LDL went down 35mg but my HDL also went down 13mg so I need to work on bringing up those good fats in the next couple of months.  My triglycerides also dropped 30mg.  All-in-all, I think this marks quite a wonderful amount of progress but wait, there's more!!  I also realized that I've now lost approximately 16 pounds in the almost two months that I've changed my eating habits - and that, was like icing on the cake (vegan icing, of course)!!  All of this has made my week, maybe even month!  Of course, I'm sure that it wasn't just the diet but all of this was helped along by a good amount of exercising almost every day and THAT was more difficult than changing my eating habits.
     I've been finding that this whole vegan diet was just meant to be for me.  It feels easy and the food I'm discovering is a no-brainer when it comes to making it.  No more realizing at 4pm that I forgot to take a slab of meat out of the freezer and that it won't defrost in time for dinner only to give up and announce that we'd be going out to eat!  Now, around 4pm, I'm considering what I feel like eating, go to the store to pick up whatever veggies, grains, or additives needed to make it, and dinner is done within two hours!  I tried planning and buying a week's worth of meals but I got tired of the vegetables wilting or rotting before I was able to use them.  So now, I kind-of fly by the seat of my pants everyday.  I try to make sure I have leftovers so I can eat the next day for lunch but if not, I always keep tomatoes, mixed greens, broccoli, tofu (and/or tempeh), and vegan bacon in the fridge for a quick salad or a yummy VBLT (VeganBaconLettuceTomato) sandwich.  When I make a soup or stew, I freeze half of it to use another day that I don't feel up to creating something.  It's very liberating for me!  I do plan well-rounded nutritionally dense foods for every day's meals, remembering to keep it colorful to get a good balance of vitamins and minerals.  My copy of the book "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis, RD and Vesanto Melina MS, RD is my stalwart companion in keeping up with how much of what I need to eat to keep as healthy balanced as possible...if you're also embarking on a vegan adventure, I highly (again) recommend that book!
  

     So, besides needing to raise my HDL cholesterol and lowering the rest of all that a bit more, my other challenge has been potassium intake.  I just can't seem to get enough from what I've been eating.  Now, before anyone jumps on the banana wagon (LOL!), I know bananas have a lot of potassium but I also know that a baked potato has WAY MORE potassium than a banana. I've never been a big fan of bananas but I'll eat them if I have to and potatoes (love them) are way too high in calories to eat more than once in awhile (1 banana is 110 calories & 450mg of potassium; a baked potato is 290 calories for a whopping 1081mg of potassium)!  So I've been researching other sources of potassium that I can "pepper" my meals and snacks with and I've found out some interesting things:

(According to USDA.gov website):
1) Figs.  1 fresh medium fig - 116mg potassium / 37 calories
             1 dried fig - 87mg / 21 cals

2) Canned tomato paste (unsalted).  1 cup = 2657mg / 215cals
3) White beans. 1 cup = 1004mg / 249 cals
4) Raisins (packed). 1 cup = 1236mg / 493 cals
5) Spinach, cooked (without salt). 1 cup = 839mg / 41 cals

These are just a few of the ones I looked at but there seems to be more than I thought there was.  Plus, the list made me recheck my calorie tracking software and I found out that potassium numbers are not always given (even though I know the product has potassium).  Might be that I'm getting enough and I just don't realize it.  Nonetheless, living in a very humid area and working out hard...well, let's just say that I don't bother sitting down on our couch until after I've showered :D Minerals must be replaced constantly here.  It's too bad we can't have a machine in our homes that we can test our own blood every month to check vitamin/mineral serum levels ourselves.  Wouldn't that be grand??  I'd use it just to make sure my body has what it needs to function like it's supposed to.

If you want to check out the USDA's nutrient database sorted by potassium rich foods, here's the link.  (By-the-way, animal products only start showing up on this list at 850mg of potassium, just saying.)

Don't these look yummy?!? 

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