Behind the label of each food product there is a table in which the percentages of the various macronutrients are present. But how do you accurately determine how many carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fibers are present within a certain food? Scientific instruments are needed to analyze them from a biochemical point of view. So let’s see what the macronutrients are, what their functions are and how to generate a nutritional table of a food.
What are macronutrients and in which foods they are found
Before seeing what they are and what the macronutrients are for, let’s understand in which foods they are.
Let’s start with carbohydrates. If we look at any nutritional table on the label, we see that there are also sugars inside the carbohydrate category. So the foods they provide carbohydrates are both the Cereals and derivatives (pasta, bread and rice), both “sweets” foodsthat is, those that contain sugars (such as fruit). But not only that: carbohydrates can also be found in legumes (chickpeas, beans and lentils, potatoes, pumpkin), but are mainly present in sugary products (biscuits, cakes and fruit juices).
The foods that instead are considered sources of protein they can be of both animal and vegetable origin: let’s talk about the meat and of the fishbut also of the egg and gods dairy products on the one hand, e legumes, dried fruit And cereals on the other.
The foods that instead bring above all fathere too, they can be of both animal origin (such as butter and lard), and vegetable (olive or seed oil).
And finally there are fiberwhich are present only in products of vegetable origin, therefore fruit, vegetables, legumes, seeds and cereals.
Generally, foods do not contain or only carbohydrates, or only proteins, or only fat, or only fiber. Each food is a mix of these macronutrients: for example, whole eggs also have 10% fat, therefore not only proteins.
What are macronutrients for
But what are these macronutrients for our body for? THE carbohydrates they sugars they are ours source of energy: the cells that make up our body, in fact, use oxygen that we breathe every moment of our life to burn glucose (simple carbohydrate par excellence) and obtain energy. That’s why they are so important and should not be removed from the diet. Without carbohydrates, the body would begin to use fats as a source of energy, entering a state called “ketosis” in which the so -called “ketone bodies” are produced, including acetone which is precisely expelled through exhalation and which causes heavy halitosis. So, not eating carbohydrates is not a good idea, unless there is one specific medical motivation.
The protein They also play an important role for the correct functioning of the body. Imagine each protein like a chain of many rings, where each ring is an amino acid. Here you are, The amino acids are the fundamental “bricks” to build Muscles, enzymes for digestion, enzymes to transport oxygen to the blood (hemoglobin, the hormone that transports glucose) and insulin.
As for the fatthey too have many functions: in addition to being a source of energy, they are used for Build our body’s cellsin fact the cell wall is substantially formed by phospholipids (types of fat). Also, they are used for the correct operation of the brain (which is made up of 60% fat), they protect the vital organs from impact and physical damage and help to maintain constant body temperatureacting as insulator.
The fiberon the other hand, are fundamental in several aspects like Stabilize blood sugar levelsslowing down the absorption of sugars. They are “food” of the good bacteria of our intestine, or the intestinal microbiota, therefore maintain the healthy intestinal flora. In the end, they are nutrients but without caloriesSo they increase satiety and help control body weight.
How to calculate the percentage of the macronutrients
Now that we know this information, how do you determine the percentage of the macronutrients? Imagine being the manufacturer of a new type of frozen pizza. To build the nutritional table you will need to do some biochemical analysis pizza with specific instruments. And these tools are provided by specialized companies and scientific instrument providers for laboratory analysis such as FKV.
Just to get an idea, the amount of protein is determined by measuring the nitrogen contained in the piece of pizza through a process of acid digestion and distillation. Why nitrogen? Because proteins are the only macronutrients that contain it, therefore the amount of nitrogen is directly linked to the amount of protein. For fats, on the other hand, the fat pizza is extracted with a solvent using modern techniques such as microwave extraction.
Carbohydrates and fibers, as can be seen in the video, are often determined through a process of acid or basic hydrolysis, then the carbohydrates are broken up to obtain simple sugars, then the fat and protein part is separate with an extraction and then for weight difference, carbohydrates or fibers are determined.
Behind the food we eat every day so there is A lot of science and a lot of technologybut above all there is a meticulous work that allows to obtain precise measurements that guarantee the quality of what we eat, helping to prevent diseases related to bad eating habits.
