UNDERSTANDING YOUR NUTRIENTS IN A PLANT-BASED DIET

WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS IN A DIET?

All humans need to eat and drink to survive. Broadly speaking, food can be divided into 2 categories:

  1. Macronutrients (IMAGE) (this info should be provided as a link)

    • Nutrients that you need in fairly large quantities daily

    • They aid in providing the body energy, maintain organ function and help in growth and tissue repair

    • 5 types. They are:

      • Carbohydrates 

        • Your energy powerhouse, essential for daily life

        • Eat complex (wholefood) carbohydrates and not simple sugars 

        • Meat has no carbohydrates

        • Main sources: wholegrains, tubers etc

      • Proteins

        • For growth and to maintain muscle mass

        • Every cell (plant or animal) has protein

        • Also for hormone synthesis, immune function, blood production and essential brain chemical production

        • Generally not used for energy (unless in starvation states)

        • Protein is broken down to amino acids in the intestines. Our body absorbs the amino acids and in turn makes its own proteins. 

        • Main plant sources: legumes, beans, vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli, nuts, seeds, grains etc…

      • Fats

        • Our body can produce most of its own fats so only essential fatty acids (such as Omega-3) are required

        • Fats are required for storage energy and also needed in hormone and nerve synthesis

        • No cholesterol is required in our diet as our body is able to produce all it needs

        • Meat and processed food have excessive amounts of fat, giving rise to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease

        • Plant sources of healthy fats: Nuts, seeds, beans, fruit such as avocado and durian

      • Fibre

        • This is actually a type of carbohydrate that is not absorbed by the human intestines

        • Instead fibre is food for our microbiome (the microorganisms living in our gut that are critical to good health), slows absorption of sugars and

        • fats and prevents damage to the gut lining (ie prevents constipation and even more importantly prevents bowel cancer)

        • Only found in whole (unprocessed) plant foods

        • Meat and processed food has 0 fibre

        • 80% of the population of developed countries do not take enough fibre in their diet (ie most people may appear normal but are fibre malnourished)

      • Water

        • I have included water as its daily and adequate intake is essential for life

        • All living cells require water

        • Water is best taken plain without sugars (sodas, juices etc) or artificial sweeteners

2. Micronutrients (IMAGE) (this info should be provided as a link)

  • These are nutrients required in small amounts but nevertheless essential to health and disease prevention.

  • They are:

    • Vitamins (like A, B, C, D, E, K)

      • Plants are always rich in all vitamins except B12 (see below)

    • Minerals (like sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc etc) 

      • Calcium and iron from plants is better regulated and absorbed than meat sources

    • Phytonutrients

      • This is a whole new class of nutrients that science is just starting to understand

      • There are maybe 50000 different phytonutrients in plants and none in meat

      • They appear critical in slowing aging, building healthy immune systems, gut health, anti-oxidant (and anti cancer) properties etc

      • Examples: phytoestrogens, lycopene, carotenoids etc

A health WFBP diet means daily macronutrients (all categories) and a healthy variety of micronutrients (this the term: eat the rainbow… make your food colourful, and of different textures, varieties and taste).