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       Three Main Nutrients

      THE MAJORITY OF FOODS WE EAT ARE A MIXTURE OF THE THREE PRImary macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Steak, for example, is thought of as being a pure protein. The main ingredient in a steak, however, is water, at about 59%, followed by protein, about 32%, then fat at about 8%, all depending upon the type and cut of the meat. Water, although a macronutrient, gets its own special category as a unique nutritional substance. When a food is designated as fat or protein, this refers to what nutrient is most dominant. Cheese is dominant in fat but does have some protein in it and a slight amount of carbohydrate. We therefore consider cheese a fatty food.

      The following will briefly explain the major nutrients and some sources for each.

       Protein

      Derived from the Greek root for first, protos, (as in prototype and protoplasm) protein refers to the most essential nutrient for building structure, facilitating growth, and repairing tissues. As a matter of fact, your body is basically one giant protein matrix, being that protein is the bulk of muscle tissue, blood, connective tissues (for example, fascia, tendon, ligament), hormones, antibodies, and enzymes.

      All proteins are composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. It is the inclusion of nitrogen that distinguishes proteins from fat and carbohydrates. The smallest functional unit in protein is an amino acid. There are about twenty common amino acids in total, but only nine are considered essential and are given the plausible title, essential amino acids. The body requires a dietary source for these nine essential amino acids. A chain of amino acids creates a distinctive protein structure called a peptide, or when many peptides glue together, a polypeptide.

      Since meats can create either an acidic or alkaline reaction according to metabolic type, it is recommended that you know your metabolic requirements relative to protein intake. There is more value for the use of animal proteins when you are recovering from a major surgery or injury, when you need to repair and rebuild tissue. This is why chicken soup, a.k.a. “Jewish penicillin,” has been popular for recovering from colds, illness, and physical trauma. The large amount of calcium-phosphorus coupled with the amino acids in the muscle tissue is ideal for somatic recovery and reparation, especially for protein-dominant metabolic types. You can recover with vegetable protein, however: a soup made from carrots, leeks, garlic, parsley, cilantro, millet and almond butter is a nice recovery broth, one that carbohydrate-dominant metabolic types especially appreciate. There is also the old standby of miso soup to rely upon, made of fermented soybean paste.

       Protein Sources:

      Animal-based

      • Eggs

      • Milk (including cheese, yogurt, and other)

      • Muscle tissue (usually just known as meat, but yes, you are eating the muscles and connective tissues of an animal when you eat steak, chicken legs, and pork loin)

      • Blood (Numerous cultures eat the blood of animals, raw and cooked.)

      • Organ (visceral) meats: spleen, liver, heart, brain, glands, and other

      • Gristle (often the cartilage, ligament, tendon, and the like; all the collagen-rich connective tissues of the animal)

       Vegetable-based

      • Legumes: soybeans, split peas, lima beans, dried beans, peanuts, nut butters

      • Grains: corn, steel cut oats, wheat, brown rice, millet, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, and wild rice

      It used to be thought that legumes and grains were not complete proteins in themselves—that is, they did not contain all the essential amino acids. Contemporary research indicates that whole grains do indeed comprise a complete protein. You get a very hearty, complete vegetable protein when you mix a legume with a whole grain. This combination is sometimes referred to as a light protein, distinguishing it from a heavy protein, a flesh- or visceral-based type, which requires many more stomach acids to digest. Light proteins are nutritious and much needed for carbohydrate-dominant types when they are trying to build muscle mass or to bolster their immune system (which should be ongoing maintenance).

      This legume and whole grain combination is a dietary staple for many impoverished regions of the globe that cannot afford the luxury of growing animals for food. Eating a vegetable-based diet to fulfill your protein requirements is a logical choice for lowering your cholesterol levels and taking care of your circulatory system, especially if you are a slow oxidizer or a sympathetic-dominant metabolic type. The right lifestyle choices such as exercising, quitting smoking, and managing stress will also create a similar effect. Put the two together—light proteins and healthful lifestyle choices—and you have a well-known winner.

      Proteins occur in nature often with fats, which is why a protein and fat food combination works well, especially for fast oxidizers and para-sympathetic-dominant metabolic types.

       Fats

      Fats have received a bad reputation in the popular press. Some health educators have suggested that this is a purposeful ploy to hoodwink you into buying fat substitutes, thinking they are a more healthful choice. In most cases the faux-fat is worse for you than the real thing. It is recommended that you just eat the real thing, but in modest quantities.

       What is so great about fats?

      1. Fats carry the flavor of foods, and your body registers the message “I’m full” with digestion of these valuable nutrients. There are special receptors in the tongue, stomach, and small intestine that send signals to your brain that you are satiated. If you eat fat, you feel full faster with a smaller amount of ingested materials. Because of this, a little quality fat goes a long way. It is much easier to overeat when you are consuming foods made with fat substitutes or artificially engineered to be non-fat.¹ Your body does not register full as fast, and your spoon just keeps on scooping. Eat fat. It is good for you, and your body needs it. Consult the list of quality fats below for the best nutritional choices.

      2. Fats are a very rich source of energy, more than double that of proteins and carbohydrates. They are absorbed more slowly than the other two nutrients, staying with you longer. If you have a short time to eat, like a short break at work, it is best to have some good quality fat; it will sustain you for a longer time than empty carbohydrates, and you will likely not eat as much when your next meal opportunity arises. Of course, you always have the free will to override your body’s natural signals, which causes problems in the long term. If you are not very hungry, eat only a little. If you are not hungry at all, do not eat just to be social. If you have a short time to eat and need sustaining energy, include good fats.

      3. Fats transport and store the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Taking these vitamins as a supplement without the presence of a quality food source of fats is essentially a waste of time and money, as your body will not utilize them well.

      4. All your cells are made of fat. Together with protein, they constitute the structural framework of your body, from smallest to biggest. Certain fats assist with membrane suppleness, as well as help normalize nutrient

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