What is a Macronutrient and Why Should I Care?

This is an interesting question. The short answer is that a  macronutrient is one of three nutrients that your body needs every day in order to… well, to live! They provide the energy needed to maintain your lovely body. Those are: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

The ones needed in large quantities are the first three, and they’re important.

1. Carbohydrates: Up to 65% of our energy comes from carbohydrates, in the form of simple or complex carbohydrates. (You may be saying, “but what if I’m on the Keto diet??”. For more information on macros and keto, see here.)Simple carbohydrates are carbs which are easily broken down by our bodies into glucose, which is the main energy source for our bodies. These include honey, sugar, syrup, molasses, yogurt and milk.Complex carbohydrates take longer to break down into glucose, and come from starchy, savory foods like rice, bread, pasta, and starchy vegetables like peas and beans. These are higher in fiber and more filling, so are a good choice.
2. Proteins: Proteins are another vital macronutrient. They break down into essential building blocks called amino acids. Proteins help muscles grow, repairs tissue, and create enzymes our bodies need. If we have extra protein, it gets processed into another form of glucose and stored for when we need it.
3. Fats: As much as diet marketing has told us to stay away from fats, a certain amount of fat is needed. It cushions your organs, and there are important vitamins that can’t be absorbed without fat, namely Vitamins A, D and E.There are three kinds of fat: transfat (Stay away!), Saturated fat (eat some), and unsaturated fat (actually good for your heart, in small quantities).Transfats come from hydrogenated oil, and can be found in margarine, shortening and fried food. Basically they take a liquid oil and add hydrogen to it to make it a solid oil. It’s really bad for your heart, so you should avoid it.Saturated fats come from red meat and cheese, along with oils like coconut oil,    palm oil and also butter. It should be eaten in only small amounts, as it tends to    raise the LDL level (bad cholesterol) in your blood.Unsaturated fats – here’s the one you want, as it’s healthy for the heart. It’s found  in  oils from vegetables, seeds and nuts, such as sunflower, safflower, rapeseed, olive,    walnut and corn oil, nuts and seeds, oily fish like herring, pilchards, mackerel, salmon and trout, and avocado. But still don’t eat too much, because these items are high in calories.