Macronutrients can refer to the chemical substances that humans consume in the largest quantities.
There are three principal classes of macronutrients: carbohydrate, protein and fat.
Macronutrients are defined as a class of chemical compounds which humans consume in relatively large quantities compared to vitamins and minerals which provide humans with energy.
Fat has a food energy content of 38 kilojoules per gram (9 kilocalories per gram)proteins and carbohydrates 17 kJ/g (4 kcal/g).
Water makes up a large proportion of the total mass ingested as part of a normal diet but it does not provide any nutritional value.
Macronutrients are the essential nutrients your body needs in large amounts to function properly.
The three main macronutrients are:
Carbohydrates: the primary energy source.
They’re found in foods like grains, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products.
Proteins: Essential for building and repairing tissues, producing enzymes and hormones, and supporting immune function.
Found in meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds.
Fats: Provide energy, insulate organs, and help your body absorb vitamins.
Found in oils, nuts, seeds, avocado, and fatty fish.
Macronutrients provide the calories the body needs to fuel all its activities, for the raw materials to build and repair tissues, muscles, and organs.
Macronutrients help regulate important bodily processes like blood sugar levels and hormone production.
Recommendation for macronutrients:
Carbohydrates: 45-65% of daily calories.
Proteins: 10-35% of your daily calories.
Fats: 20-35% of daily calories.
Ethanol provides calories but there is no requirement for ethanol as an essential nutrient.
Carbohydrates
Glucose Sucrose Ribose Amylose (a major component of starch) Amylopectin Maltose Galactose Fructose Lactose Protein
Essential and non-essential amino acids
Alanine Arginine Aspartic acid (aspartate) Asparagine Cysteine Glutamic acid (glutamate) Glutamine Glycine Histidine Isoleucine Leucine Lysine Methionine Phenylalanine Proline Serine Threonine Tryptophan Tyrosine Valine
Fats Saturated fatty acids Acetic acid (C2) Propionic acid (C3) Butyric acid (C4) Valeric acid (C5) Caproic acid (C6) Caprylic acid (C8) Capric acid (C10) Lauric acid (C12) Myristic acid (C14) Pentadecanoic acid (C15) Palmitic acid (C16) Margaric acid (C17) Stearic acid (C18) Arachidic acid (C20) Behenic acid (C22) Lignoceric acid (C24) Cerotic acid (C26) Monounsaturated (i.e., semi-stable) fatty acids Myristoleic acid Oleic acid Eicosenoic acids Erucic acid Nervonic acid Polyunsaturated (i.e., unstable) fatty acids Linoleic acid (LA) – an essential fatty acid α-Linolenic acid (ALA) – an essential fatty acid Stearidonic acid (SDA) Gamma-Linolenic acid (GLA) Arachidonic acid (AA) Eicosatetraenoic acid (ETA) Timnodonic acid (EPA) Clupanodonic acid (DPA) Cervonic acid (DHA)
Essential fatty acids α-Linolenic acid ALA (18:3) omega-3 fatty acid Linoleic acid LA (18:2) omega-6 fatty acid
Macronutrients that do not provide energy:
Oxygen Oxygen is essential for life.
Water Water is also essential for life.
It provides the medium in which all metabolic processes proceed.
It is necessary for the absorption of macronutrients and micronutrients but it provides no nutritional energy.
Dietary fiber from fruits, vegetables and grain foods.
Insoluble dietary fibre is not absorbed in the human digestive tract but is important in maintaining the bulk of a bowel movement to avoid constipation.
Soluble fiber can be metabolized by bacteria residing in the large intestine.
Soluble fiber serves a prebiotic function with claims for promoting healthy intestinal bacteria.
Bacterial metabolism of soluble fiber also produces short-chain fatty acids like butyric acid which may be absorbed into intestinal cells as a source of food energy.