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The Chemistry of Your Body: Nutrition
- Project Medify
- Aug 27, 2020
- 5 min read
By Prerna Kulkarni
Abstract
A great overlap exists between the three major fields of science: biology, chemistry, and physics. Biochemistry delves into a myriad of elements and chemical reactions, chemical physics describes quantum numbers and mechanics, and biophysics encapsulates the field of Earth science. This article focuses on the biochemistry aspect of the science subject, particularly how nutrition affects the several metabolic reactions that happen inside of your body.
The Four Major Biological Micromolecules
When the word “macromolecule” is broken down, it essentially means a “large (macro) molecule.” In your body, there are four major classes of these macromolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Neither macromolecule is more or less important than the other; they all play a vital role in making sure that your body is functioning the way it is supposed to. When these classes are combined, they make up the majority of a cell’s dry mass (note that water makes up the majority of a cell’s mass when wet mass is included).
Carbohydrates
A stigma surrounds the term “carbohydrates,” under the notion that consuming too many “carbs” will detriment the health of the consumer. However, the fact is that carbohydrates are an important part of one’s diet, as they provide an abundance of energy through glucose, a simple sugar that is derived from starch. Foods that are high in carbohydrates include fruits, grains, starchy vegetables, yogurt, and legumes. While these foods are nutritious, there are other unhealthy alternatives that you should open your eyes towards, for example canned fruits, sweetened cereals, ice cream, fruit juices, potato chips, and sugary drinks should be avoided.
Just because these foods are deemed “unhealthy” does not mean that you need to completely excise them from your diet; make sure to follow of consistent meal plan in order to maintain optimal health while treating yourself once in a while (for a sample meal plan, refer to the 80/20 plan found under Meal Planning and Calorie Deficits and Surpluses). Each gram of carbohydrates has four calories. 50-60% of your total daily calories should consist of nutritious, carbohydrate-rich foods.
Make yourself aware of what carbs are in the food you are eating, whether it be simple carbohydrates (fruits, milk, candy), foods that can be broken down quickly by the body, or complex carbohydrates (grains) or complex carbohydrates foods that have a slower breaking down time in order to “store” energy for the body. Also, understand that carbohydrates in the form of natural sugar, such as fruits serve an exponentially higher health benefit than carbohydrates with refined sugar, such as candy.
Lipids
Another macromolecule that receives the short end of the stick when it comes to nutrition is lipids, also known as fats. Lipids consist of several hydrocarbon (hydrogen-carbon) bonds, also known as a hydrocarbon tail and are insoluble in water, classifying them as nonpolar molecules.
Many people shy away from fat consumption in their diet since lipids carry a caloric amount of nine calories per gram. However, fats are staples in one’s meal plan, as they perform several diverse processes in the cell, such as energy storage and insulation from the environment.
Note that there are two different types of lipids, saturated and unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats are generally liquid at room temperature, an example being most oils, and are considered to be healthier than saturated fats that are mostly solid at room temperature, examples being tropical oils, lard, and cream cheese. While 30% of your diet should be derived from healthy fats (avocados and nuts), constant consumption of saturated fats can cause a cholesterol build up in the consumer’s body, which can block their arteries (blood vessels), increasing the risk for stroke and heart disease.
Proteins
Proteins are macromolecules that are abundant in almost every living organism, and present a variety of functions—the most out of all macromolecules. Proteins have the ability to protect the body, regulate bodily functions, form the structure of body systems, transport other molecules (including cell signals), store molecules, and form membranes; they can even act as toxins or enzymes. While proteins have many purposes, they also come in great numbers. One living system can contain thousands of proteins that each hold a specific purpose. Protein structure also varies based on its amino acid composition or its functions (form fits function).
At four calories per gram, proteins should make up 12-20% of your total daily calories (adjusted based on your daily exercise levels). While proteins take three to four hours to stimulate a change in blood sugar levels, consuming food products high in protein will not increase blood sugar levels as much as constantly indulging on food products that are high in refined sugar, which are usually simple carbohydrate foods. Some foods that are high in protein include: meat, nuts, egg whites, and Greek yogurt.
Nucleic Acids
Nucleic acids make up the most pertinent macromolecules in one’s body for vitality. They hold DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that carries instructions for gene expression and for how a cell functions. Since there are little to no dietary concerns with consuming nucleic acids, the focus in this paper has been directed towards the three other major macromolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins.
Meal Planning & Calorie Deficits and Surpluses
One of the best ways to maintain a healthy diet is by pre-planning your meals. By keeping fresh food in containers labeled “breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack,” you can prevent overeating.
Looking deeper into one’s diet, however, it is important to follow a non-restrictive diet plan; the 80/20 diet is highly recommended. Eighty percent of the time, food consumption should be healthy and nutritious, and the other twenty percent can be sweets or food products to treat yourself. This opposes several fad diets, like the Keto (which constitutes maximum healthy fats, medium protein, and minimum carbohydrates) or Paleo ( which is referred to as the “hunting and gathering diet”) diets, as these plans do not specifically say what you should eat; rather, they explain how you should portion your meals to maintain optimal health.
The daily recommended calorie consumption for males is 2500 while females is 2000. While these are the suggested amounts, everyone has different needs and limitations regarding how much food they can consume and what their body is comfortable with. If a person wants to lose weight to increase their health, they are usually recommended by a dietician to watch their nutrition and/or go on a calorie deficit, meaning that they eat less than their daily caloric intake. This usually means excluding snacks or a dessert out of one’s diet, though nothing drastically changes in calorie difference. If a person wants to gain weight or bulk their body through exercise, a calorie surplus is recommended, meaning that they eat more than their daily caloric intake. For those who decide to increase their fitness in the gym, protein is usually approved for building muscles, and powdered protein, as used in protein shakes, has become very popular over the past few decades.
Although all this information might seem complex, your diet is not something to worry about if you are a healthy individual. Nonetheless, it is important to be aware of the foods that you consume and how they may affect your body systems in the future, if not in the present. Make sure that you open your eyes to the physicality and mentality of your body, and the different metabolic processes that are affected by the food that you eat, including nervous, cardiac, respiratory, digestive, and lymphatic processes as well as your gut bacteria axis and homeostasis. If you find yourself wanting to improve your diet, make sure to consult with logical and scholarly research and perhaps with a dietician.
Sources
Libretexts, O. (2020, August 15). 3: Biological Macromolecules. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from
NIH, M. (2020). Facts about saturated fats: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Retrieved August
27, 2020, from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000838.htm
Permanente, K. (2020). Balancing carbs, protein, and fat. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from
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