Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients

To have success on any eating plan, you must understand two types of nutrients: macronutrients and micronutrients. 

Macronutrients are protein, carbohydrate, and fat and all three of these contain a lot of calories. Macronutrient foods include all animal-based foods:

• Meat Products (including poultry)
• Dairy Products (milk, yogurt, cheese, etc)
• Eggs
• Fish 

Micronutrients (which we will focus on) are vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals and are very low in calories. Micronutrients are often referred to as “super foods” and include:

• Polyphenols – Found in nuts, and berries, these act as antioxidants and anti-allergenics.
• Carotenoids – Found in carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkin, apricots, and mangoes. These include beta-carotene, lycopene, and lutein and also function as antioxidants.
• Phytoestrogens – Found in soy, seeds, whole wheat and other whole grains, and some fruits and vegetables. These are plant estrogens and may help prevent breast and prostate cancer.

A super food is a "nutritional powerhouse" food that can help extend your life span and help prevent or reverse some diseases of aging such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia, and certain cancers. The 14 classic super foods listed below are easy to find and generally inexpensive, so it's easy to fit them into your daily diet.

• Beans – Includes all beans. Aim for 4 1/2-cup servings per week.
• Blueberries – May substitute other berries. Aim for 1 to 2 cups daily.
• Broccoli – May substitute other cruciferous vegetables or greens. Aim for 1/2 to 1 cup daily.
• Oats - Also wheat germ and ground flaxseed, as well as all other whole grains. Aim for 5 to 7 servings a day.
• Oranges – May also use lemons, limes, grapefruit, kumquats and tangerines. Aim for 1 serving daily.
• Pumpkin – Also carrots, butternut squash, orange bell peppers and sweet potatoes. Aim for 1/2 cup on most days.
• Salmon – Wild salmon (avoid Atlantic/farmed). May substitute Alaskan halibut, albacore tuna in cans, herring, sardines, trout, sea bass, oysters and clams. Aim for 2 to 4 times per week.
• Soy – Meaning tofu, soymilk, soy nuts, edamame, miso and tempeh. Aim for 15 grams of soy protein per day.
• Spinach – Also includes kale, collards, Swiss chard, turnip and mustard greens, romaine lettuce and bok choy. Aim for 1 cup steamed or 2 cups raw on most days.
• Tea – Aim to drink 1 or more cups daily.
• Tomatoes – May substitute watermelon, pink grapefruit, persimmons, guava and red-fleshed papaya. Aim for 1 serving per day.
• Turkey – Also skinless chicken breast. Aim for 3 or 4 4-ounce servings per week.
• Walnuts – Also many other nuts and seeds, such as almonds, pistachios, pecans, sesame seeds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, cashews and macadamia nuts. Aim for 5 ounces a week.
• Yogurt – Aim for 2 cups daily.

For ideal health, we need to consume both kinds of nutrients, but the American diet contains too many macronutrients and not enough micronutrients. Few Americans are deficient in calories or macronutrients and excess weight from too many calories is currently a problem for many people, hence the obesity epidemic currently plaguing the U.S. This over-feeding of macronutrients, coupled with a lack of exercise, is the main contributor to juvenile obesity…welcome to reality parents! I recently saw a news report that there is actually a video game designed to get kids out of the house and involved in playing outdoor sports and activities. Can you imagine that? We have become such couch potatoes that our kids need a video game to convince them to go outside and play! When I was a kid we couldn’t wait to get home so that we could get out of the house to play football, basketball, baseball or any other physical activity. God help the youth of today when they get older. My guess is that there will be a HUGE spike in coronary disease and diabetes in the years and decades to come. So (now that I’ve vented), the majority of Americans should limit their consumption of macronutrients and increase their consumption of micronutrients as doing so is essential to achieving maximum weight loss and optimal health. 

A micronutrient-heavy diet supplies your body with 14 different vitamins, 25 different minerals and more than 10,000 phytochemicals, which are plant-based chemicals that have profound effects on human cell function and the immune system. Foods that are naturally rich in these nutrients are also rich in fiber and water and are naturally low in calories, meaning they have a low caloric density. These low-calorie, high-nutrient foods provide the ingredients that enable your body's self-healing and self-repairing mechanisms and helps people achieve maximum weight loss and optimal health. 

In addition to eating more micronutrient-rich foods, we need to eat fewer macronutrients. Every nutritional scientist in the world agrees that moderate caloric restriction (remember only macronutrients have high calories) promotes weight loss, slows the aging process, prevents the development of chronic diseases and extends lifespan. There is no controversy that Americans are eating themselves to death with too many calories so to change this, we must eat less fat, protein and carbohydrates and more plant-based foods.

The simple fact is that if you include more micronutrients in your diet and fewer macronutrients, the combination of fewer calories and increased vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals will provide a powerful synergy that will accelerate your weight loss and health goals. 

Further, the Food and Drug administration (as behind as they are when it comes to real nutrition) has published a list of Daily Values covering both macronutrients and micronutrients.  These Daily Values are now in use on most food labels sold in the grocery store.  They are based on a 2000 calorie diet.  The Daily Value for fat is 65 grams, of which no more than 20 grams should be saturated fat.  People who require more or fewer than 2000 calories should adjust the amounts of macronutrients accordingly.  The problem is that most Americans take in a fat content equal to a 4000 calorie diet and, on top of that, don't get enough exercise!

The Daily Value for Sodium is 2300mg, or ONE TEASPOON of salt. For more information on sodium intake, see my article on SALT.  The Daily Value for cholesterol is 300 mg, and it is strongly recommended to not exceed this value.

The following table contains a complete list of the recommended intake Daily Values.

I wish you continued healthy eating and let me know how else I can help. Keep reading my articles for more nutritional facts and helpful tips…and feel free to make suggestions as to topics you want to know about.