NUTRIBeginner’s Guide to Nutrition
You might have looked at articles and blogs, and got a little confused about all the
science behind food. Therefore, this article is your go-to lexicon for understanding the
principles of nutrition, and help you understand when which article is worth diving into
at which point (spoiler: they are all worth it!)
Quick jump to sections:
What are calories?
How many calories do I need?
What are Macronutrients (carbohydrates, fiber, protein, fats)
What are Micronutrients (vitamins & minerals)
What are calories?
Calories, or strictly speaking ‘kilocalories’, are a measurement tool used to determine
the energy content of foods. The energy in food is delivered by macronutrients, which
vary in the number of calories they contain; a gram of carbohydrate and protein both
yield 4 calories, while a gram of fat yields 9! So, what happens to that energy in our
body? If you have heard of the law of conservation of energy before, it does not come
as a surprise that a few things can happen. You either burn the calories by using the
energy they provide and going wild in the gym, or the energy will be stored in the form
of body mass (1–3).
How many calories do I need?
The number of calories necessary in your daily diet is composed of three factors.
Firstly, the amount of energy required to keep your body functioning when it is at
complete rest, is called the basal metabolic rate (BMR). This is the energy you need for
basic life-sustaining functions such as breathing, heartbeat and body temperature
regulation. Secondly, the thermic effect of food (TEF) is the energy required for
disposal, digestion and absorption of the food consumed. So yes, you basically burn
calories while eating! Lastly, the activities of daily living (ADL) influence your energy-
requirements. These are the calories needed to give you energy for day-to-day
activities. This strongly depends on your lifestyle and physical activities. As you’d
probably understand, going to the gym twice a day requires more energy than binge-
watching your favorite series.
So how many calories should I eat when I want to maintain, lose or gain weight?
Coming back to the law of conservation of energy, a different amount of energy can
help you achieve your goals. When you want to maintain weight, you want to take in the
same amounts of energy as the calories you burn. So, when your calorie expenditure is
2000 kcal, you would also consume this amount! In line with this theory, gain weight
can be achieved by consuming more calories than you burn! On our Nutrition and
Health page, you can read more about weight maintenance, weight gain and fat
loss (1–3).
Macronutrients
Macronutrients make up the nutrients that need to be obtained daily and are used in
large amounts. Hence, macro! As briefly pointed out before: they are the main energy
deliverers in our diet. There are three groups of macronutrients: carbohydrates,
proteins and fats. These groups should be responsible for respectively 40-70%, 10-
35% and 20-40% of the calories in your diet. The exact amounts are strongly
dependent on your lifestyle and goals! For an in-depth overview of the macronutrients,
you can read this article about the macronutrients (1,2,4–6)!
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the most important energy carriers in nutrition and are composed of
the elements of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. They are found in a wide spectrum of
food products, both healthy and unhealthy. Carbohydrates can have both short and
easy digestible structures, and longer and complex ones. Based on this, a distinction
can be made in monosaccharides (glucose, fructose and galactose), disaccharides
(lactose, sucrose and maltose), and polysaccharides such as starch. Did you know that
all carbohydrates are built upon different combinations of monosaccharides? That is
also how we yield energy from this source! All carbohydrates are broken down to
glucose molecules by the body. These are extremely important because they provide
the direct energy your body needs to function properly. More specifically, red blood
cells, the brain and nerve cells can only use glucose as energy source, which illustrates
how important they are!
When we talk about carbohydrates, it is the quality that matters. This means that an
adequate intake is more focused on eating slow-releasing carbohydrates with a slow
effect on blood glucose, rather than the short and easy ones that can lead to spikes.
In line with this, the recommended carbohydrate sources that fit a healthy diet are the
complex ones, such as oat, rice and wholewheat products. Did you know that our
products contain lots of these sources wherefore your blood glucose after a meal stays
stable? You can read more about that here! (3,7–11)
Fiber
Although fiber might sound like a macronutrient on its own, it is a type of carbohydrate
your body can’t digest for which they are not broken down to glucose molecules.
Instead, they contribute to a well-functioning digestion, a feeling of satiation after eating
and reduce the risk of heart and vascular disease. Did you know that fibers are also the
fuel for the microorganisms in our intestines? You can read more about that in this
article! (1,3,11–13)
Protein
Proteins are essential in a healthy diet, being the foundation of all cells, the heart of all
organic activity and important for the maintenance of muscle structures. Besides that,
they are indispensable in production of hormones and enzymes. While proteins are
mostly known for being visible as muscles, they are also present in bone, skin and hair!
Proteins are made from free building blocks called amino acids, for which different
patterns translate to different proteins. In the digestive system, this food protein is
broken down again into free amino acids. After breaking them down, they are built up
again in the specific systems that your body needs at that moment! The process of
breaking down and building up happens continuously. Did you know that half of your
body protein is replaced in eighty days?
The amino-acids we just discussed, can’t be stored in our bodies for which we have to
make them in two ways: by modifying others, or from scratch. Nine amino-acids, known
as the essential amino acids, can only be obtained from our diets. As you might know,
animal protein are the most complete sources, meaning they contain all essential
amino-acids, while plant-based protein often lacks one or more essential amino acids.
By combining incomplete proteins, a complete protein intake can be established.
Pairing rice and beans is the most common way to do so, and leaves you with all
essential amino-acids. As an exception to the rule, soy protein contains all essential
amino-acids for which it is an easy source to implement in your diet! You can read
more about protein and the required amounts in this blog. (1,3,14–16)
Fats
Fat is one of your body’s main energy sources. As pointed out before, one gram of fat
yields 9 calories per gram. Fats are important by delivering essential fatty acids your
body needs for well-functioning of your brains and muscles. As you might know, we can
divide it in three groups; unsaturated, saturated and trans fatty acids! Or more suitable;
the good, the bad and the ugly! The most relevant aspect of the differences of these
types is their overall impact that they can have on health. Unsaturated fats are known
as the healthy kinds.
They have double bonds for which they are liquid at room temperature. They are well
known for a well functioning brain. On the other side, you have the saturated fats which
lack double bonds and are less healthful. Reducing saturated fat intake is linked with
decrease in the risk of heart disease. Nevertheless, some kinds of saturated fats, called
MCT’s might be healthful, and more studies are currently focussing on determining to
which extent we should implement them in our diets. In contrast, trans-fats should be
avoided at all costs. Luckily, due to regulation these types of fats are becoming less
and less present, because our body does not know what to do with those. But let’s end
on a positive note! The healthy fats have a positive influence on the well-functioning of
our heart, which you can read more about here. (1,17,18)
Micronutrients
Micronutrients is the collective name for minerals and vitamins. In contrast to
macronutrients, micronutrients do not provide energy and should be consumed in
smaller amounts. Which doesn’t make them less important! Vitamins facilitate the
release of energy from the macronutrients. Besides that, every vitamin has its own
special roles to play when it comes to numerous activities throughout the body.
Minerals are as important to consume in adequate amounts as vitamins. They influence
fluid balance and are necessary for building structures such as bones and teeth. In
this article, each micronutrient will be reviewed in depth! Did you know that vitamins
and minerals are also key in maintaining a well-functioning immune system? You can
read more about the science behind that in this article. (1,19)
