The Synergy of Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats in Human Nutrition

An Introduction to Fats, Proteins (and Carbs!)

As a result of living, our bodies require compounds to rebuild itself as we break ourselves, but to rebuild ourselves we need a source of energy, and to ensure that energy isn’t depleted: a reserve source of energy. You may be wondering: What compound can do that? The answer: none. Our bodies require three different compounds to be able to carry out everyday function and to ensure that we don’t break down or run out of fuel. This is what I would like to call the real “synergy” of our diets.

Our Fuel Source:

Our bodies need to convert carbohydrates into glucose, which is then used in our bodies to provide us with energy. Our primary source of carbohydrates are from fruits, vegetables and grains that naturally produce, our secondary source is within sugars. Any energy we do not use is stored as glycogen within our liver and muscle cells, allowing us to easily access and disperse the energy-rich compound within our bodies when it is needed. However, if this glycogen is not used, any remaining glucose and glycogen gets stored within our fatty acids, and converted to body fat, which is not at all a bad process.

Our Reserve Source:

What exactly happens when our bodies run out of fuel? Do we just fall over and die? Not exactly, within our bodies there is an often overlooked form of energy that people find more pesky than useful. What is being described is the detested pest we call body fat, or more proper, lipids. Our body fat is not just there to make our lives miserable and sluggish, it’s there because it’s our last-resort source of energy that will be slowly burned to keep us alive in case we do not have enough carbohydrates. Our main source of fat can be almost any food! Any food that we do not burn gets converted into body fat, there are however two major types of fat, and knowing which one can be very important. The two types are classified as saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats come from animal products, and are generally easier to find as they are solid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats are found in oils and fish. Other than these two major groups of fats, there is one more. Trans fat is found in snack foods and are not natural fats. Eating these fats can lead to higher cholesterol as well as it getting stored immediately as body fat, and too much fat can lead to complications, however too little can lead to complications as well. The body fat also works as insulation and armor to our vital organs, so too much loss of body fat can in fact damage our body. When our bodies are damaged, what exactly is there to repair our damaged bodies?

Our Own Personal Repairmen:

After burning our energy, our bodies do take some damage, however any every-day damage taken by our bodies (primarily within our muscle cells) can be repaired with the use of amino acids or proteins. The amino acids work to rebuild our muscle tissue and maintain our organs to ensure they do not break down. Our body creates some of these amino acids on it’s own, but there are still 9 of which that are not produced by us natively. The lack of self-production of these amino acids requires us to get them from other sources. Other animal sources are our primary sources. Meats, cheeses and eggs are what come to mind when people think of protein. A big however though, we get most of our dietary protein through eating a combination of foods. Grains and dark green vegetables also contain the same proteins that meat does, and a combination of both can provide our bodies with the proteins we need. The biggest misconception with the intake of proteins is that our bodies need to have all 9 amino acids at once, but if one meal contains 4 from grains and the other 5 from beans or leafy greens, our daily requirement can be reached. Once we get this daily requirement, what will provide our bodies with the energy to carry out the repairs?