Our body has different nutritional needs, among which carbohydrates, fats and proteins stand out. Do you know in what quantity and what are its main sources?
Every day, we need food correctly in order to enjoy good health. This is so, because our body has a series of nutritional needs that have to do with the fats or lipids, proteins and carbohydrates that we need to consume daily.
In this regard, food contains organic elements (such as lipids or fats, carbohydrates and carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins and mineral salts) and water and even fiber that are certainly essential for the body.
For this main reason, our daily diet should include up to 50-55% carbohydrates or carbohydrates, 25-30% fats and between 12 and 15% proteins.
Carbohydrates
As we have mentioned, our daily diet should include up to 50-55% carbohydrates and carbohydrates, which are the most important nutrient for our body.
This is so because carbohydrates are absorbed in the form of glucose, and our cells depend on it to function properly.
As regards carbohydrates, they are ingested from polysaccharides, especially vegetable starch.
Of course, we must differentiate between simple and complex carbohydrates:
- Simple carbohydrates: These are carbohydrates that our body absorbs at the intestinal level very quickly, being used mainly as energy.
- Complex carbohydrates: They are carbohydrates whose absorption is slower by our body. In this way, sugar is released more slowly into the blood, which helps to produce a greater feeling of satiety, for a longer period of time.
Where to find them? The following foods rich in carbohydrates (or carbohydrates) stand out: whole grains, wheat and corn flour, whole-grain toast, rye bread, rice, oatmeal, pasta, cooked potato, peas, chickpeas, lentils, beans and grains of soy.
Fats or lipids
They have to form between 25 and 30% of our daily diet, and tend to provide a very caloric energy, although fundamental, since they intervene in the absorption of those vitamins called fat-soluble.
In this case, there are two types of fats, which are divided into vegetable fats (which we must take, but in moderation, since through them we metabolize fat-soluble vitamins, and accumulate fats), and animal fats (which are the first which, for example, we must eliminate from the diet when we want to control high cholesterol).
But not just any type of fat will do. It is advisable to choose especially healthier fats, such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. They are considered as good fats.
Where to find them? We can find healthy fats in foods such as oily fish (salmon, sardines, tuna, bonito and herring), olive and sunflower oil, pumpkin and sesame seeds, cashews, almonds, walnuts, avocado and lean meats.
And where can we find bad fats? We can find not so healthy fats in foods such as red meats and sausages, butter, whole milk and derivatives (whole dairy), chocolate, pastries and precooked products.
Protein
They are necessary and essential to form and regenerate the different tissues of the body. Of course, when we digest, they are transformed into amino acids, which, some of them, are called essential amino acids, since our body cannot produce them, and they are responsible for the energy and the composition of the hormones, antibodies and enzymes.
Thus, when a food provides the majority of essential amino acids, it is said to contain proteins of high biological value (or of good quality).
Where to find them? We can differentiate between foods with a high protein content of animal origin, and foods with a high protein content of plant origin. Take note:
- Foods rich in animal protein: Chicken meat, beef, cheese, salmon, fish, eggs, yogurt and milk.
- Foods rich in vegetable protein: Soybeans, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, lentils, beans, tofu, peas and cooked rice.
The best way to provide proteins to our body is to choose to combine vegetable proteins with proteins of animal origin. For example: a portion of grilled breast served with cooked lentils or beans. Or a serving of lentils with beef (stewed type).
