Macros, macronutrients, IIFYM.. You’ve probably heard those terms thrown around before. They all have to do with macronutrients, also known as carbs, fats, & protein. Macronutrients are very important to the body (you can’t survive without them!), but we often don’t think enough about micronutrients. Yes, micronutrients are a thing! In fact, I guarantee you’ve heard of them before… They’re actually vitamins and minerals! Let’s break this down!

Micronutrients

Micronutrients (micro because we do not need large quantities of them) is a broad term used to describe essential elements required to carry out a variety of physiological functions. You can (& probably do) refer to them as vitamins & minerals. And yes, vitamins & minerals are different from one another!

Vitamins are organic (meaning they contain carbon) & can be broken down by elements such as heat, air, & acid. Minerals, however, are inorganic (simply meaning they do not contain any carbon molecules) & maintain their chemical structure through all types of elements. This is important to know because it is easier for minerals to find our way into our bodies, but harder for vitamins because we tend to cook & store a majority of our foods which causes the vitamins to lose their integrity :/

Vitamins

There are two types of vitamins. Water-soluble & fat-soluble vitamins. Each individual vitamin & vitamin pair provides the nutrients we need to carry out different physiological functions in our body to keep us healthy and energized! 

Water-Soluble Vitamins

Water-soluble vitamins are B vitamins (8 in total) & Vitamin C. Each water-soluble vitamin plays multiple different roles within the body but their main functions are to: 

• Release energy (from the food you eat)

• Produce energy (let’s get pumped!)

• Build protein & cells

• Make collagen

What’s unique about water-soluble vitamins is that they easily enter your bloodstream but that your body cannot store them. That means we need to make sure we are consuming them daily through the food we eat. So if you were to consume more vitamin C than your body needs, at that moment, you will simply pee out the “extra vitamin C your body doesn’t need!

Fat-Soluble Vitamins

The fat-soluble vitamins are vitamins A, D, E, & K.  These vitamins also play a role in many important functions, both individually, and together. They play a role in helping keep your eyes, skin, lungs, GI tract, and nervous system on point. The also help with:

• Building bones

• Protecting your vision

• protecting your body (vitamin E also acts as an antioxidant)

• They Interact favorably with one another

What’s unique about these 4 vitamins is that they are stored in your fatty tissue & liver, and then released when your body needs them! However, since these vitamins are stored in your body, you can build up for vitamin levels to a toxic level, so you have to be careful, especially if you’re using supplements with any of those 4 vitamins in them. 

Minerals

Just as there are 2 types of vitamins, there are also two types of minerals. Major minerals & trace minerals. 

Major Minerals

Major minerals are used in your body to maintain proper fluid balance, as well as building healthy, strong bones. Major minerals are called “major” because they are needed in large quantities, and stored in large amounts. Your major minerals are:

• Calcium

• Chloride

• Magnesium

• Phosphorus

• Potassium

• Sodium

• Sulfur

Just as too much of anything is never a good thing, having too much on any one major mineral can cause you to become deficient in another. 

Trace minerals

Trace minerals are just as important as major minerals, they are just needed, and stored, in lesser amounts! Trace minerals also perform a variety of tasks within the body, such as transporting oxygen (iron), strengthening bones (fluoride), & clotting blood (zinc). Your trace minerals include:

• Chromium

• Copper

• Fluoride

• Iodine

• Iron

• Manganese

• Molybdenum

• Selenium

• Zinc

How Many Micronutrients Do I Need?

Honestly, it depends! Each micronutrients has a different recommended daily allowance (RDA) and RDAs are affected by your age, lifestyle, and stage of life. You can check out the Food and Drug Administration's RDA table HERE. Or you can download a copy of NASM’s chart HERE

What About Supplements?

It’s always best to eat whole foods, but if you can’t get all your requirements through foods, supplements may be a good choice. With that, it’s best to talk to your doctor or registered dietitian. Since over consumption of some micronutrients can cause adverse health effects, it’s best to talk to professionals who can run different labs & prescribe you a safe plan that would be beneficial to you! 

I hope you found this article helpful & it shed some light on an often forgotten part of health! If you enjoyed this article, let me know by leaving a comment below!

Chat Soon!

Veronica

Photo by Heather Barnes on Unsplash