Diet plans can help you lose weight or manage a specific health condition. Each diet plan contains foods with macronutrients, such as fats, carbohydrates and proteins, and micronutrients, like vitamins and minerals. Macronutrients provide calories. Diet plans may differ in the percent of calories from each type of macronutrient and may have vulnerabilities leading to deficiencies in certain micronutrients. Consult your doctor about your dietary needs and the chemical breakdown of your diet plan.
Fats
You need dietary fat for cell membrane structure and function and to produce hormones, absorb vitamins A, D, E and K and provide energy to your body. Fat provides nine calories per gram, more than twice the amount that carbohydrates and proteins each provide your body. Although your calorie needs may differ by health condition, the USDA Dietary Guidelines recommend that children consume between 30 and 40 percent of calories from fat; that older children and adolescents acquire between 25 and 35 percent of calories from fat; and that adults consume between 20 and 35 percent of calories from fat each day. The key to good health and weight management is to eat healthy fats and avoid unhealthy fats. Healthy fats include monounsaturated fatty acids from olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocados and polyunsaturated fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids from walnuts, flaxseeds and fish and omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils. Unhealthy fats include saturated fats from red meat, pork, poultry and dairy and trans fats from processed foods.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for your body. Carbohydrates are made up of different types of sugars your body converts into glucose, the sugar molecule your cells metabolize for energy. Carbohydrates provide four calories per gram. The USDA Dietary Guidelines recommend that people of all ages consume between 45 and 65 percent of calories from carbohydrates each day. You can obtain carbohydrates from whole grains, refined grains, fruits and vegetables. Nonetheless, whole grains contain a much higher concentration of nutrients and fiber than refined grains.
Proteins
Proteins are composed of amino acids, nutrients that provide nitrogen to your body. Proteins help your body grow and repair cells and tissues, and support a healthy immune system. Proteins provide four calories per gram. The USDA Dietary Guidelines recommend that children consume between 5 and 20 percent of calories from protein; that older children and adolescents get between 10 and 30 percent of calories from protein; and that adults consume between 10 and 35 percent of calories from protein each day. The best dietary sources of protein are from meat, fish, dairy and soy.
Micronutrients
Your body needs small amounts of vitamins and minerals for growth and development of cells and tissues and to assist with enzymes in chemical reactions. Deficiencies of micronutrients can cause health problems, including loss of vision, bone loss, infections, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Plant-based foods are good sources for most vitamins, yet vitamin B-12 and vitamin D are derived from animal foods, respectively.
References
- McKinley Health Center University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign; Macronutrients: The Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat; 2008
- The Regents of the University of California; Calories Count; 2005
- United States Department of Agriculture; Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010; 2010
- Harvard School of Public Health; Fats and Cholesterol: Out with the Bad, in with the Good; 2010
- Harvard School of Public Health; Health Gains from Whole Grains; 2010
- World Health Organization; Micronutrients; 2011
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