What are macro-nutrients?

Like a car, our body needs fuel to function. The food we eat everyday must supply enough energy to support growth and development, maintain the basic functions for life, and repair any damage caused by illness or injury.

There’s more to a healthy diet than the vitamins and minerals we see in commercials all the time. While we hear a lot about these so-called "micronutrients," the body’s main fuel are carbohydrates, proteins and fats – which are collectively known as macronutrients, known as such because they are needed in large quantities by the body.

Macronutrients provide the body with energy, while micronutrients are also important for its healthy functioning.

Carbohydrates, the first kind of macronutrients, provide all the cells in your body the energy they need. They are the primary source of energy in our diet, and also play an important role in the structure and function of the body organs and nerve cells. When you eat foods with carbohydrates in them, your body breaks them down into glucose, which the body uses as fuel.

There are two kinds of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are sugars. They are easily broken down by the body and are found in candy, soda and other sweet foods.

Complex carbohydrates, or starches, are pleasant to the taste buds but not sweet. They provide a more gradual release of energy because they take longer for the body to process.

Complex carbohydrates are better than simple carbohydrates when you are exercising or performing strenuous work over a long period. These are found in bread, rice and noodles, to name a few.

Carbohydrates build up, keep up, and replace the tissues in your body. Your muscles, your organs and even some of your hormones are made up mostly of protein.

Proteins can be found in meat, fish, eggs, nuts and dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt.

Fat is the body’s main form of energy storage. It insulates our bodies from the cold, provides some cushioning for our organs, and is the energy reserve of the body. It also constitutes important hormones that regulate out body’s temperature or blood pressure. And it is necessary for the storage and transport of vitamins A, D, E and K.

It is important for us to get enough macronutrients as well as micronutrients in order to maintain a healthy diet. That’s why according to WebMD.com, a healthy diet must be:

• Balanced. Eat many different types of foods from different food groups.

• Varied. Eat a variety of foods within each food group (for example, eating different fruits from a fruit group instead of eating only apples). A varied diet helps you get all the nutrients you need, since no single food provides every nutrient. Eating a wide variety of foods will also help you avoid eating too much of any substance that may be harmful; and

• Moderate. Eat a little of everything but nothing in excess. There is no good food or bad food. All foods can fit in a healthy diet it you eat everything in moderation.

This is why in this day and age, it is important to choose foods that provide these important macronutrients and micronutrients. Eating instant noodles is a convenient way to satisfy your macronutrient requirement, particularly carbohydrates. Some brands even have added nutrients (like those with the Sangkap Pinoy Seal, which is awarded by the Department of Health to food products that have been certified as fortified with essential micronutrients such as Vitamin A, iron and iodine, singly or in combinations).