We’ll begin by looking at three categories familiar to
all of us as important components of the food we eat: carbohydrates, oils/fats, and
proteins. So many diet plans stress one or another of these categories—Eat more
carbohydrates! Eat less fat! Eat more protein! Eat fewer carbohydrates! What do these three groups have in common?
First of all, carbohydrates, oils/fats, and proteins are
all macromolecules. A
macromolecule, as the name implies, is simply a large molecule formed by combining many
smaller molecules. In addition, they are all organic molecules. Technically speaking, an
organic molecule is one that contains the element carbon. It’s easiest to think of
organic compounds as substances associated with living organisms.
Where do they fit into human nutrition? There are six
groups of nutrients vital to humans: water, minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, lipids
(oils and fats), and proteins. The last three are called the organic macronutrients
because they are are organic (they contain carbon) and they are the major constituents of
the foods we eat.
Now let’s have a look at each of these macronutrients
individually.
