The Big Three Nutrients for Better Health

By Leigh Erin Connealy, M.D.

To function, the human body needs the nutrients in food. Your digestive system breaks down what you eat and delivers the nutrients via the bloodstream to cells throughout your body. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are key nutrients we obtain from food, along with fiber, water, vitamins, and minerals.

But what exactly are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, and why are they so important? Let’s take a closer look at each one:

Carbohydrates are sugars and starches found in foods like vegetables, fruit, cereal, sugar, pasta, bread, rice, and beans. Often called carbs, they are the body’s primary fuel source. One key to healthy eating is understanding the difference between favorable carbs (vegetables and fruits) and unfavorable carbs (sugar, candy, cookies, pies, cakes, and refined foods like white rice).

Fats, like carbohydrates, have unfairly acquired a bad reputation. Fats are essential to good health, and it’s not an overstatement to say we cannot live without them. Like carbohydrates, fats provide energy, and some fats are better for us than others. Our bodies cannot produce essential fatty acids (EFAs), so we must obtain them from food or supplements containing omega-3s and omega-6s. I’ll explain these in more detail shortly.

Protein is an essential nutrient found in every cell of the body. Your body requires a steady supply of protein to create new cells and repair old ones. In addition, protein helps to regulate many bodily functions, playing various roles, such as enzymes and hormones responsible for certain chemical reactions. Protein can also yield energy during a shortage of fats and carbs.