Nutrition

Image of various nutrutional food ingredients which are also know as macronutrients

Macros

Ever heard of the term Macronutrients?

Food is the most amazing thing on this planet, offering us a wide variety of beautiful flavours that sing to our pallets and leaving us spoilt and never knowing when to say no. We simply eat and eat and eat, making it increasingly challenging to consume a clean and balanced diet (free of the following....deep fired food, high salt, sugar and fat content, processed, fast foods etc). A balanced diet offers our body the nutrients it needs to function at an optimal level so things like hormone production, muscle repair and nerve function, as well as many other important bodily functions can take place.

We can easily identify macros (macronutrients) by the following, Proteins, Carbohydrates & Fats. These nutrients are crucial to the human body and without them the body will not be able to produce enough energy to function properly. Bodily functions include digesting, breathing, sneezing, urinating, even thinking, and all of these functions require macros.

Micronutrients

Minerals and Vitamins are micronutrients, they are essential because they play a very important role within the body. It's important to ensure your'e consuming the recommended daily amount to help support the body to cleanse, regulate and rebuild itself. Lets speak about Minerals first because I don't hear enough people speaking about these little super hero's and how impactful they are. In simple, the body is made up of 102 minerals, each mineral playing a significant role within the body. Minerals can be mainly found in fruit and vegetables making it easy to source not only minerals but vitamins too. This is because plants are soil fed and soil is mineral rich. Minerals can also be found in fish (absorb minerals from their environments) and meat (absorb minerals from eating plants/grass), so there are plenty of ways to include them into your diet. Below are some examples of minerals and how you can source them.

Mineral list
Mineral Source
Magnesium Nuts, Whole Grains, Avocado, Fatty Fish, Dark Chocolate, Tofu, Banana, Papaya, Jackfruit
Copper Nuts, Seeds, Whole Grains, Beans, Shell Fish, Animal Organs (Liver and Kidneys)
Manganese Legumes, Black Tea, Pineapple, Berries, Beans and Shell Fish
Chromium Apples, Bananas, Oats, Potatoes, Broccoli, Poultry and various Fish
Iodine Eggs, Shell Fish, Irish Moss, Sea Weed, some types of Fish, Milk, Cheese, Yogurt
Phosphorus Meat, Fish, Nuts, Whole Grains, Salmon, Sardines, Asparagus, Sweetcorn
Potassium Spinach, Bananas, Avocado, Tomatoes, Seeds, Sprouts, Almonds
Calcium Leafy Green Vegetables, Nuts, Seeds, Cheese, Yogurt, Milk

Now let's take a look at Vitamins and their role in helping the body to produce energy, repair cells and fight off disease. Vitamins are organic compounds and are essential for the body to function at a level that is optimum, there for it's important to include vitamins into your diet every day. There are two types of vitamins, these are known as fat soluble (vitamins A, D, E & K) and water soluble (vitamins B & C). Like Minerals, Vitamins can be sourced from various types of foods and can easily be introduced into your daily diet. It's better to consume micronutrients through foods and herbal rather than taking supplements. If you are going to head down the supplements rout I would highly recommend researching the brand, the ingredients used and the quality/effacy of the supplement. Below are some examples of vitamins and how you can source them.

Vitamin list
Vitamin Source
A Mangos, Carrots, Red Pepper, Cod Liver Oil, Sweet Potato, Tuna, Broccoli, Salmon, Eggs
B Nuts, Seeds, leafy green vegetables, Red Meat, Poultry, Fish, Diary, Mushrooms, Avocado, Eggs
C Bell Peppers, Pineapple, Berries, Citrus Fruit, Spinach, Cauliflower, Sprouts, Potatoes
D Fatty Fish, Red Meat, Egg Yolk, Fortified foods such as Cereals & Oat/Almond Milk
E Kiwi, Nuts, Seeds, Whole Grains, Avocado, Salmon, Crayfish, Apricots, Cranberries
K Broccoli, Sprouts, Berries, Greens, Lettuce, Red Meat, Eggs, Cheese

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