Besides, now that we’re all quarantined due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have all the time in the world to prepare those proper meals and forget about feeling low on energy and being disappointed when we look at ourselves in the mirror. Let’s take a look at what you need to know.
A lot of us are being taught that carbohydrates are the source of all evil when it comes to maintaining a healthy and good-looking physique, but that’s simply not true. No matter what kind of food you’re eating, if you end up reaching your caloric maintenance, and then you continue eating more, getting into what’s called a “caloric surplus”, you’ll start to accumulate all of those extra calories in the form of fat.
Even if the food you eat is pure protein or fats, the same thing will happen. So, carbs are not the source of all evil, and they are very useful because their role is to fuel our body with energy so we can go through our daily tasks, especially exercise. In males, they play a role in maintaining normal testosterone levels.
Protein
We’ve all heard that protein is good for building muscle, and that’s true, but there are numerous other benefits of consuming it as well. No, protein won’t make you bulky if you’re a girl, and things like these are simply not true. Every person needs to consume protein, not just those who exercise regularly. Without protein, our body cannot function properly, and we’ll start experiencing side-effects and health issues if we stop eating it.
Fats
Fats are essential for many functions in our body, and we know that a lot of people think they’re bad, but that’s just a myth. Fats are not the macronutrients that make you overweight. What makes you overweight is overeating, and nothing more.
Unlike carbs, our body cannot function if we stop consuming fats, so make sure that you have them in your diet. When you’re on a keto diet, our bodies stop using carbs as a fuel source and switch to fats instead. However, this effect cannot be reversed. You cannot be on a zero-fat diet, or you can but not for too long before your body starts experiencing negative effects.
Fiber
A very important macronutrient that’s often ignored by many, and it has a lot of important benefits. Fiber can improve the way your stomach digests food and fix any imbalances, bloating or pain if you experience any of those. However, eating too much of it can also cause some negative effects, so once again, keeping good balance is the key.
Vitamins
Ever since our youngest age, we learn that vitamins are essential for our immune system and our overall health, and today we have numerous ways of consuming them. Vitamins are not macronutrients, because they shouldn’t be consumed in the same amounts such as protein or carbs for example, but they are micronutrients and you need smaller doses of them in your body, every day.
The best way to consume vitamins is by eating fruits and veggies, but if you are looking for an alternative way of doing that, you can take a look at supplements and multivitamin pills.
Minerals
Minerals are everywhere around us, but since today the human race lives in a much-modernized world, we are not consuming the minerals as much as we should be. Did you know that humans are meant to walk bare-footed because when touching soil we are absorbing minerals through our skin? However, nobody walks bare-foot these days, so we have to find another way of consuming these minerals.
Once again, they are present in fruits and veggies, but they can also be found in other superfoods, such as the liver, which might come as a surprise to many, but it’s the truth. Eating liver is healthy because it contains tons of minerals and other important micro and macronutrients. However, if you’re a vegetarian or a vegan, that won’t cut it for you, so you’ll have to try fitting more fruits and veggies in your diet, or using supplements and pills.
Water
Last but not least, water, the one thing that both humans and animals cannot go without. Water is not exactly a nutrient, but it’s so essential that we have to put in on this list. Without consuming the right amounts of water every single day, our bodies will be unable to function properly, and we’ll start experiencing so many side-effects that make it just not worth it to not drink plenty of it daily.
The average person needs about two and a half liters of water daily, but those who engage in both light and moderate physical activity might need to consume a lot more. In the summer, when we tend to sweat a lot more compared to other seasons, we need to increase our water intake, even if we don’t do any sports. When we sweat, our body wastes a lot of minerals and liquid, so we need to make sure that we maintain these levels and don’t dehydrate.