Carbohydrates:

Carbohydrates are a macronutrient and an important source of energy. Carbohydrates are always broken down into glucose in our bodies and then stored as glycogen. These carbohydrate building blocks come in different chain lengths. No matter how long the chain was, it is ALWAYS broken down into its individual building blocks so that they can be used again. The longer the chain of building blocks, the longer a food keeps us full. The shorter the chain, the faster our blood sugar levels rise, but we don't feel full for as long. I'll try to explain the different types simply here:
1 building block = e.g. honey
2 building blocks = e.g. household sugar
up to 10 building blocks = e.g. toast
10-10,000 building blocks = e.g. potatoes + grain
Now we need to clearly distinguish when we need to consume which length of building block chain. Logically, it takes a lot of time and blood to break down 10,000 building blocks into individual building blocks. This process keeps us full for a long time, and these foods also provide us with plenty of fiber, which is valuable for our body (more on that another time). However, there are also situations in which we don't want to "weaken" our body through lengthy digestion and therefore prefer to consume a single building block or two building blocks. This may not keep us full for long, but our body can benefit very quickly from the supplied energy.
Recommended carbohydrate sources for everyday life: fruit, potatoes, rice, pasta, whole-grain bread, quinoa, oatmeal, ebly, buckwheat, bulgur, etc.






Proteins:

Proteins, also called albumins, consist of a variety of amino acids. Some of these amino acids are essential for our bodies, which means that we must absorb them through food. Cells, enzymes, tissues and hormones, for example, are made of proteins. Proteins are the third macronutrient after carbohydrates and fat. Many women are afraid of gaining weight or building muscle if they consume protein, but this is absolutely not the case. Protein powder, for example, has about the same amount of protein in each shake as a piece of chicken, it's just in a different form and nobody thinks about it. We now know that animal proteins can be absorbed by our bodies more efficiently than plant proteins (tofu, lentils). More on this topic in a later article.
Recommended protein sources for everyday life: fish, meat, eggs, quark, cottage cheese, legumes, shakes, etc.






Fats:

Of all macronutrients, fats contain the most calories per gram, namely 9 kcal. Fats are mainly divided into saturated (more 🚫) and unsaturated (more ✅) fatty acids. The unsaturated fatty acids can also be further subdivided; today we are dealing with omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. Omega 6 fatty acids are found primarily in sunflower and corn oil, as well as in animal fats. Omega 6 is not bad, but is consumed relatively too much these days. Omega 3, on the other hand, we consume too little. We find it in linseed oil, rapeseed oil, hemp oil, and salmon. Omega 3 has anti-inflammatory effects and plays a key role in maintaining our brain and heart function.
Recommended fat sources for everyday life: linseed oil, olive oil, salmon, avocado (be careful of the ecological footprint), nuts such as almonds and tree nuts, etc.

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