Nutrients are any essential substances needed by animals and humans that cannot be synthesized within their bodies, with some nutrients considered essential as insufficient intake can lead to illness or even death.
Dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium are nutrients that many individuals do not get enough of. You can gain these essential micronutrients through whole food sources or supplements.
Fiber
Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the human digestive tract cannot fully break down and digest, meaning that it passes relatively undigested through your stomach, intestine and colon. Fiber helps lower your risk of colon cancer and promotes weight management while simultaneously lowering cholesterol and controlling blood sugar.
Carbs provide your body with energy, so consuming a diet high in fiber is vital to maintaining optimal energy levels. Fiber can be found in whole fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts; add them to cereal or smoothies; blend chopped veggies into salad dressings or soups with chopped legumes or nuts for extra texture; even sprinkle some ground flaxseed or chia seeds into yogurt for an added dose of vitality!
Carbohydrates
Carbs provide your body with energy and support its various functions. Once consumed, carbohydrates break down into glucose in your bloodstream where it’s used to produce ATP – your cells’ primary source of energy production.
Carbs may get a bad rap due to sugar-laden junk foods, but they remain an integral component of a nutritious diet. When consumed from whole grains, vegetables, and fruits they provide essential sources of fiber, vitamins, and minerals while providing energy throughout the day – making them the ideal fuel for our bodies!
Fats
Fats are essential nutrients for our bodies. Each gram provides 9 calories, is essential for absorption of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) as well as playing an integral part in blood clotting, muscle movement and inflammation processes, among other roles. Due to an inability of our bodies to produce polyunsaturated fatty acids like linoleic acid (LA) and alpha linolenic acid (ALA), they must be consumed through diet alone – healthy sources include oily fish like sardines mackerel salmon as well as canola rapeseed olive oils as nuts avocados as healthy sources – while unhealthy sources include saturated and trans fats found in fatty meats, whole milk cheese hard cheese processed sausages and snack foods.
Vitamins
Vitamins are micronutrients the body needs in small amounts for proper functioning and good health, found naturally in plant and animal foods and in nutritional supplements.
Vitamins play an essential role in many metabolic pathways, from energy-yielding metabolism and DNA synthesis to fighting infections or diseases that sap energy reserves. They’re an integral component of health.
B vitamins, folate, vitamin C and magnesium all play an essential role in producing energy in mitochondria. Multivitamins often include antioxidant properties to fight chronic inflammation which drains energy as well as to boost your energy reserves.
Fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in the liver and fat tissues and released when necessary into the bloodstream, including liver, eggs, fatty fish, butter and dark green vegetables as sources.
Minerals
Minerals are inorganic solid substances with a unique chemical composition and ordered crystal structure, that provide energy through cells in our bodies and help regulate immune function.
Minerals, although required in smaller amounts than vitamins, support numerous processes in our bodies that aid bone and tooth development and maintenance; nerve impulse transmission; production of enzymes; blood pressure regulation, heart rate regulation and metabolism regulation. They can be found in foods like dairy products, nuts seeds beans and cruciferous vegetables.
While mineral deficiency may be uncommon, those at-risk should pay particular attention to making sure their diet provides them with enough essential minerals and supplements; over-consumption could negatively impact immunity.
