Nutrition for beginners

I am sharing this with you because I have been where you are now. Nutrition is confusing. There is so much contradictory information surrounding us that it can be very difficult to find the right path to know what you should really be doing. There are so many diets to choose from: vegan, keto, paleo, you name it. And all of them seem to offer miracle results for weight loss and health.

But the reality is different. Many of these diets can work short term (and some long term) but they can also have downsides and risks that you need to know before you take one on. And do you know who you should not listen to when choosing a diet? People that scream the loudest. People who claim theirs is the only truth and no other way is the right way.

So before you decide what diet to choose (or maybe not choose any), I want to talk about the basics of nutrition. You know, the protein, the carbohydrates, and the fats. Let’s find out why each of them is important and why your body needs it. Let’s talk about the things that some gurus intentionally leave out.

Protein

a white plate topped with meat and vegetables — Photo by Sooji Min

Protein, just like other macronutrients, is essential for our well-being. It is involved in all processes of the body but let me just name a few:

Protein is fundamental for the creation of new cells, tissue repair, and growth. It is not only about building muscle, I am talking about your skin, hair, organs, and every cell in your body. Billions of cells are created in our bodies each day and they all need protein for that.
Antibodies, part of our immune system, are proteins. Therefore, we need protein to help us fight disease and have a strong immune system.
Protein is crucial for our hormone production and balance as most of our hormones (not all) are also proteins.
Protein helps keep pH balance in our tissues and blood, it also helps maintain electrolyte balance.

How much protein do you need?

While protein is essential and we all need to consume adequate amounts daily, unless you are a bodybuilder, you don’t need to be consuming 200 g of protein every day. The average Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. If you lift weights and are trying to build muscle, your protein intake should go up to 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

Can you eat too much protein?

Yes. Excess protein causes oxidation in our bodies, it puts a lot of stress on our kidneys and liver. And those organs are already overloaded by toxins coming from our diets and the environments we live in. Too much protein may result in kidney disease and osteoporosis.

Carbohydrates

pasta dish on white plate — Photo by Eaters Collective

There are simple, complex carbohydrates, starches. But I won’t go into too much detail today and simply explain why we need it. Carbohydrates (carbs) are converted into glucose and that is the only source of energy that our brain can depend on. Glucose is the preferred source of energy for the whole body. It is so essential, that if we don’t eat enough carbs, our body will create it to survive. Remember all those people in the background telling you that you don’t need carbs?

Now not all carbs are created equal and it matters which ones you choose to eat, but it is a topic that I will discuss in more detail separately. For now, let’s stick to the basics: stay away from simple carbs like white bread, pastries, and sugar. Instead eat good sources of carbohydrates like whole wheat bread, whole grains, plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Fats

an avocado cut in half on a white surface — Photo by John Vid

Fat fearmongering started back in the 1960s and has been proven wrong many many times over the years, yet we still keep looking for fat-free or low-fat products on supermarket shelves. Think about it for a minute, we have been reducing fat consumption for so many years, yet, as a society, we don’t seem to be getting any healthier.

That is because we actually need fat. Fat is one of the resources of energy for us, we cannot absorb certain vitamins without fat (A, D, E, K), fat is used for organ protection, hormone production, the immune system, heart health… I could go on and on. The whole body relies on fat for many different processes.

There are different kinds of fat, but to put it simply, while it matters what sources of fat you choose: saturated or unsaturated, we need both. Sources of saturated fat can be butter, cheese, lard, meat, coconut oil, etc. Sources of unsaturated fat would be avocadoes, olives, olive oil, fatty fish, nuts and seeds. In our daily diets we should aim to consume mostly unsaturated fats, but a small percentage (about 10 percent) of saturated fats should also be included.

Now this is a very short summary of macronutrients to help you gain some basic understanding of why we need all of them in our diets. In my following articles I will go deeper into details about each macronutrient to give you more insights and help you navigate through the loads and loads of (often misleading) information on the internet.

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