The real workhorses of the body.
Protein, fat and carbohydrates get all the attention. They’re Macronutrients, or the nutrients we need in large amounts.
Carbohydrates are our main energy source.
Protein becomes the building blocks of just about everything in our body, from enzymes to hormones to tendons to hair.
Fat is the backbone for many hormones, the structure of cell walls, and our second form of fuel.
There are essential amino acids (proteins) and fats, which means we can only get them from food. (There are no essential carbohydrates.)
But the unsung heroes of the nutrient world are Micronutrients.
You are literally made up of what you eat, so you need to eat a wide variety of nutrients instead of only worrying about eating the right amount of energy in calories.
Micronutrients include basically everything we get in small (micro) amounts. Think minerals like magnesium, boron and phosphorus, vitamins like A, C, D and the B’s.
Many of these micronutrients we get from food, or at least we should if we are eating mostly whole, nutrient-dense foods.
Some micronutrients like Vitamin D are fat soluble, meaning they need fat to be absorbed, others are water soluble like Vitamin C.
Why should I care about micronutrients?
Micronutrients do most of the work and get none of the credit!
Magnesium alone is a cofactor in at least 800 bodily functions.
Electrolytes like sodium, magnesium and potassium regulate the body’s electrical charge and the balance of fluid in our cells. They also manage things like muscle contraction and relaxation.
These nutrients all play critical roles in your metabolism and management of oxidative stress.
Iron is necessary for transporting oxygen around your body. Copper helps to absorb iron from food and make red blood cells. Vitamin D helps absorb calcium and promotes immune health (among other things.)
Cholesterol (which your body makes) is used to build hormones like testosterone and estrogen and vitamin D.
These little guys do a LOT for us.
So, you should care about micronutrients if:
You have high blood pressure
You have pre-diabetes or Type II diabetes
You struggle with low energy or bad sleep
You have an autoimmune issue like Crohn's Disease
You have low libido or erectile dysfunction
You struggle with your weight and body composition
How do I get enough micronutrients?
We from food, obviously. But you’re not going to be getting a lot of magnesium or boron or iron from a Starbucks coffee drink and pastry.
You know the words to this song: You gotta eat whole, nutrient-dense foods to get all those amazing micronutrients!
So what are the best sources?
Leafy green veggies have tons of nutrients like potassium, magnesium, non-heme iron, selenium and vitamin C. Unfortunately, those nutrients often get bound to phytates and oxalates, which prevent them from being absorbed.
Legumes like lentils are a solid source of minerals like magnesium, potassium and zinc, as well as fiber.
Eggs are packed with B vitamins, vitamin A, D, K, and E, choline, zinc, and both essential fats (Omega 3 and Omega 6).
Small fish like sardines and even salmon are great sources of Omega 3 fatty acids, plus zinc, vitamin B12, potassium, and selenium.
Shellfish are a great source of zinc (crucial for libido and blood flow), B vitamins, and iron.
Beef is one of the most nutrient-dense foods out there with loads of B vitamins, vitamin A, heme iron, selenium and phosphorus.
But if you want something really packed with nutrients, you have to go for the organs. Beef liver and kidneys are chock full of vitamin A, B vitamins (especially vitamin B12), heme iron, zinc and more.
I know organs can be a tough sell, but they can be ground up and mixed into ground beef, or even taken as a supplement in capsule form.
Which brings me to supplements:
Often the foods we eat are less nutrient-dense because the soil they’re grown in has been depleted, or the animals are fed corn and soy.
So it can make sense to supplement, especially when there is an issue that could stem from low levels of a vitamin or mineral.
Magnesium is a great example. Green veggies usually contain a fair amount of magnesium, but the soil many crops are grown in don’t contain high levels of minerals anymore.
So someone who struggles to fall and stay asleep at night, or has twitchy, restless legs in bed could have low magnesium.
For that person a good magnesium glycinate could help to fill the gaps at least for a while until they start getting enough from their food.
(As someone who exercises a lot, taking magnesium every night has been a game changer for my muscle relaxation and sleep.)
When working with a client, I might ask them to start taking a Vitamin D3 / K2 supplement with breakfast everyday to help improve bone density, boost immune function and improve hormone balance.
Other clients may need to take less common nutrients to help support liver health and detoxification, or balancing blood sugar.
In these cases, the nutrient is used more therapeutically to help get things back into balance, and they can often stop or reduce the supplement after conditions have improved.
Y’all, this is a great look into what you get in your personalized coaching program.
We identify the nutritional gaps that may be causing your high blood sugar or high blood pressure or low energy and address them with food and supplements.
But we also look at lifestyle and see what exercise and stress reduction steps we can take to fix the root cause of your issues.
Ready? Let’s go!
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