{"id":78610,"date":"2023-05-31T08:37:23","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T06:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=78610"},"modified":"2023-05-31T08:37:38","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T06:37:38","slug":"seven-essential-nutrients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/seven-essential-nutrients\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Essential Nutrients"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Seven Essential Nutrients<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We need seven different nutrients to keep our minds and bodies functioning correctly, which we get from our food.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Protein<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Protein is a macronutrient that makes up around 20% of our weight. It\u2019s a \u201cbuilding block\u201d that allows our bodies to do the following key processes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Build new cells<\/li>\n<li>Repair damaged cells<\/li>\n<li>Oxygenate us<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Aid digestion<\/li>\n<li>Regulate our hormones<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Carbohydrates<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Carbs are a quick source of energy that power our cells. Our body breaks them down into glucose, which enters our cells with the help of insulin, and provides us with energy. Too many carbs can be stored as fat, and also cause insulin resistance which leads to hunger cravings. There are two types of carbs:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sugar (simple carbs)<\/strong> \u2014 these are a quick source of energy, but can damage our metabolism over time, and make us unhealthy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Starch (complex carbs)<\/strong> \u2014 starch is made up of longer chains of glucose, so takes more time for your body to break down, which provides a slower release of energy. They also contain fibre, which aids digestion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fibre<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Fibre is a type of carbohydrate that is critical for helping us to digest our food. There are two types of fibre:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Soluble fibre<\/strong> \u2014 this type of fibre dissolves in water, and creates a gel-like substance that improves digestion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Insoluble fibre<\/strong> \u2014 this type of fibre attracts water to your stool, which creates a healthier bowel, and may even reduce your risk of diabetes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fats<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Fats can also provide us with energy, and help us to absorb vitamins, build cell membranes, allow our muscles to move, and our blood to clot. They also aid inflammation (as part of our body`s natural defence). There are four main types of fat:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Saturated fat<\/strong> \u2014 these fats can have many benefits to your health, including increased energy, improved bone health, better lung health, and even reducing cholesterol levels.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Trans fats<\/strong> \u2014 these are terrible for our heart health. They\u2019re found in many fast foods, baked goods, and other low-quality food sources.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Monounsaturated fats<\/strong> \u2014 these are one of the healthiest fats, with anti-inflammatory properties, and promotion of cell growth and repair. They\u2019re found in foods such as avocados, olive oil, and macadamias.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Polyunsaturated fats<\/strong> \u2014 this type of fat is ok in moderation, but a balance must be struck between these and monounsaturated fats. They\u2019re commonly found in oils such as soy, and sunflower.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Minerals<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Minerals are micronutrients that support the body\u2019s functions, such as your metabolism, bones, heart, inflammatory response, and staying well-hydrated. Minerals-rich foods include seafood, leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, whole wheat foods, eggs, milk, cheese, nuts, and more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vitamins<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Vitamins are also micronutrients that support our body\u2019s functions, and help to prevent disease. They promote eye health, skin health, and bone health, boost our immune system, and might also lower our risk for certain cancers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Water<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Water is our last essential nutrient. It\u2019s critical for a considerable number of reasons\u2014body temperature regulation, digestion, removing toxins, reducing inflammation, protecting our tissues, helping us absorb nutrients, and much more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seven Essential Nutrients We need seven different nutrients to keep our minds and bodies functioning correctly, which we get from our food. Protein Protein is a macronutrient that makes up around 20% of our weight. It\u2019s a \u201cbuilding block\u201d that allows our bodies to do the following key processes: Build new cells Repair damaged cells [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[43],"tags":[5476],"class_list":["post-78610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-feature","tag-special-feature"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/nutrition.jpg?fit=400%2C240&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-krU","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 22:04:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}