John Myers
In order to grow, be efficient and stay healthy, the human body needs nutrients and vital substances. Because it cannot produce them itself, we have to supply our body with proteins, fats, vitamins, and many other nutrients on a regular basis.
There are substances that our body urgently needs to survive, but which it cannot produce itself. These must be supplied through a healthy diet. The essential nutrients include fats, carbohydrates, and protein as well as vitamins and minerals. While other vital substances, such as phytochemicals, are not essential to life, they fulfill many functions in the body and should not be ignored. In addition to nutrients (about 15% fat and 20% protein), the body consists of 60% water. Drinking and a sufficient intake of water is therefore particularly important. A balanced and conscious diet provides the body with all the important substances and helps to maintain physical and mental performance, health, and the growth of all cells.
Essential nutrients – these substances are essential for our body to survive
The essential, i.e. vital nutrients include certain amino acids such as isoleucine, lucine or lysine. These acids are the essential components of proteins. They are found in this form in animal foods such as meat and dairy products, but also in plant form in legumes or soy. Other essential nutrients are fatty acids, the building blocks of fats. Fat has the highest energy density of all nutrients and is therefore mainly used as an energy supplier. In order to ensure a healthy diet that is not too high in fat, you should rely on unsaturated fatty acids, such as omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids. These can be found in salmon or chia seeds, for example. Vitamins should of course also be an important part of any nutritional plan. These nutrients fulfill very different functions in the human body. Vitamin D, for example, helps ensure that calcium and phosphorus can be absorbed and utilized normally as minerals. Vitamin B9, also known as folic acid, plays an important role in the formation of red blood cells and in the division and regeneration of cells, so that normal blood formation can occur. Other nutrients that are essential for the body are minerals, including sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, iodine and selenium. They are important for our metabolism. Selenium, for example, contributes to normal thyroid function and reduces inflammation in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. A variety of colorful and delicious recipes enable you to consume the recommended daily amount of all nutrients and vital substances.
Non-essential nutrients – they too are part of a healthy diet
So what nutrients are not essential? These include, for example, carbohydrates, which are an important source of energy but can also be replaced by protein. Many people who are trying to lose weight, lose weight or are particularly fitness conscious try to minimize or eliminate carbohydrate intake. However, such a low-carb diet up to the ketogenic diet is not absolutely necessary. If you are concerned about your weight or your body mass index (BMI), it can also help to eat mainly complex carbohydrates that keep you full for longer. These can be found in whole grain products, for example. You can read why these keep you full for longer on our carbohydrates topic page. Other non-essential and often overlooked nutrients are phytochemicals. There are over 100,000 phytochemicals and their importance in human nutrition has not been known for long. However, it has been proven that they support the body in a wide variety of functions. For example, a substance contained in psyllium can bind large amounts of water and thus stimulate intestinal activity. Other nutrients can – at least in part – be produced by the body itself. This includes, for example, cholesterol, a fat-like substance that is involved in the structure of the cell membrane or metabolic processes in the brain, among other things. About 90 percent of the cholesterol required by the body can be produced by the body itself, the rest is ingested through food.
