The dynamic duo, elements and molecules both play a pivotal role in our every day life. These micronutrients such as sulfur, calcium, and magnesium cannot be made by our body, so we must seek them from supplements or the foods we eat. Making sure we are consuming high quality foods our bodies need to properly sustain efficient energy can be extremely tough in this busy world we live in today. Im going to drop a couple gems on how to sneak these in our diets on a daily basis.
Taking a few steps back, at a very fundamental level, our bodies need molecules to survive. Period. These molecules will provide our bodies for proper growth, energy, protection, and repair on a daily basis. When we eat anything, the body will refurbish and break down atoms and molecules that are in the foods we eat into even smaller molecules that our body will use to create “energy”.
If we were to dive deep into our DNA, we would see that we all have an outer surface “shield” that surrounds our cells called “cell membranes”. These little shields are vital contributors to our overall life and health as they provide structure by holding things in, letting things out and protect the cell from any harm that comes its way. On top of providing flexible barriers, these membranes give the cell its identity as well. These cell membranes are arguably one of the most important features that our bodies produce each and every day.
The ever so popular “macronutrients” include substances such as carbohydrates and protein. Protein aids our immune system, as well as increases growth and upkeep of our cellular and muscular tissues. Think of protein as a fire that gradually provides energy and fuel to rest of our body. Typically these proteins transfer into enzymes; as enzymes will significantly speed up the chemical reaction between cells. Proteins often times transform into amino acids, which in turn support our cell health! Eventually, these amino acids will convert to fatty acids or sometimes glucose A.K.A “energy”.
Carbohydrates are the easiest and fastest source of energy that can be broken down by our body. We crave these bad boys as human beings. They first get transformed into glucose right away, that glucose then is transferred to any cell in the body that is craving glucose at that very moment. This process could also be called “bio availability” in some cases.The remainder is then stored in the muscles throughout our body as well as the liver.
On the other hand, proper macronutrients include three critical types of fats including fatty acids, cholesterol and phosphoglycerides (phospholipids). These fats all play a very significant role and literally form the physical property, control the shape, and help maintain function and fluidity of our cell membranes. These “fats” have gained bad reputations to people all around the world due to fads that started in the 1980’s. Although, I do love the style, music and film the people in the 80’s produced, but this needs to change. Juts like it did then, this can easily be reversed through awareness and word of mouth from folks like us!
Water on the other hand can almost be considered a very underrated “macronutrient” that our body needs daily. Each day, the recommended amount of water is about 2.5 quarts as this amount can come from liquid OR food. Water will help dissolve an abundance of molecules that our body needs in order to convert into energy! Our cells pretty much owe their form and inflexibility somewhat to water. Lack of water can be a result of headaches, fatigue, weariness and constipation.
Quick recap:
Macronutrients– Carbohydrates (quinoa, sweet potatoes, buckwheat) fats (Avocados, fatty fish, chia seeds) and protein (eggs, lean chicken, beans) AND water
Micronutrients– Calcium (milk, yogurt, spinach), iron (beans, baked potatoes, Tofu), potassium (sweet potatoes, mushrooms and bananas), selenium (Tuna, beans, sunflower seeds) sodium (cured meat, fish, bacon), zinc (beef, cashews, garbanzo beans), magnesium (Spinach, Kale, legumes), vitamins A (broccoli, sweet potatoes, black eyed pees), B6 (lean meats, eggs, nuts and seeds), B12 (beef, fish, cheese, and egg), C (green and red peppers, cabbage and sprouts), D (cheese, tuna, orange juice) E (spinach, broccoli, almonds), and K (collards, brussel sprouts, cabbage)
In all, majority of these foods mentioned above are not processed foods. As long as one continues to “eat the rainbow” of a healthy combination of BOTH macro and micro nutrient dense food CONSISTENTLY, energy levels should remain at a healthy level.
