Know Your Body: How Food Effects You

Ever wonder how the food you eat effects your body? There are three major food groups: Carbohydrate, fat and protein. All three are essential for our bodies to function properly. Thus, these trendy ‘no carb diets,’ ‘no fat diets’ and ‘no protein diets’ are not safe nor are they effective long-term weight loss plans. Let’s briefly talk about how each group breaks down. Carbohydrates break down into two types of energy; glucose for instant energy and glycogen for energy maintenance that can stabilize blood glucose levels between meals Fats break down to free fatty acid, commonly called oleate. The free fatty acid binds with albumin in the blood and is then transferred to cells and oxides for energy (ATP) but the fatty acids produced cannot be used by the brain or red blood cells. Proteins break down to amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks for many physiologically important compounds, such as hormones and neurotransmitters. However, proteins are not a major source of energy and are mainly used to bridge the gap between carbohydrate energy and fat energy.