This section covers the science aspect of the nutrients and components that food is made of and how your body uses it. This information is what’s going to help you to understand the process of losing/gaining weight, and will greatly increase your chances for success.
Behind what you see on the outside, food is generally made up of 7 different components. These are Carbohydrates (simple and complex), Proteins, Fats, Vitamins, Minerals, Fiber, and Water. It is your body's job to break down the food and use these nutrients to keep your body alive and functioning properly. In the following paragraphs I'm going to explain what the body does with each of these components.
CARBOHYDRATESCarbohydrates are what provide your body with the fuel(energy) that it needs to function. Think of it as wood for a stove. There are both simple and complex carbohydrates. The simplest carbohydrate is glucose also called dextrose or sugar that flows through the bloodstream making it available to all the cells in your body. When the glucose comes in contact with a cell it is absorbed and through chemical reactions creates adenosine triphosphate, and a phosphate bond in ATP is what powers most of the components of the cell.
There are different types of sugars like fructose(found in fruits),Sucrose(white sugar), and Lactose(sugar in milk), all of these are converted into glucose by the liver in order to be utilised by the body. Glucose, fructose and galactose(part of lactose) are monosaccharides and are the only carbohydrates that can be absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestinal lining. Lactose, sucrose and maltose(sugar in malt) are disaccharides which means that they contain to monosaccharides and are easily converted to their monosaccharide bases by enzymes in the digestive tract. Just to clear it up Lactose has a glucose and galactose mollecule.
All of these sugars are considered to be simple carbs. Complex carbs also know as starches are basically a chain of glucoses. Starches are the way that different plant life stores their energy. Plant life produces glucose which it then strings together in a chain forming starch. The most common sources of these starches can be found in things like wheat, corn, rice, oats, potatoes and other plants like these. Before your body is able to digest these starches the body must first break them down into their original glucose mollecules therefore making it able for them to enter your bloodstream. Due to this extended amount of time that it takes to break these starches down instead of the glucose entering the bloodstream at ~30 cal per min it enters at a much slower rate of ~ 2 cal per min.
When a simple carb(ie:candy) is ingested into the body the speed at which it enters the bloodstream causes your blood sugar to spike and that causes the pancreas to excrete insulin.(used to regulate blood sugar levels) when insulin is excreted it promotes the transportation of glucose across cell membranes, aids in the conversion from glucose to glycogen which is stored in muscles, helps excess glucose get converted into fat, and prevents protein breakdown for energy.
Why is this important? Well if your trying to gain weight then consuming simple carbs before and after a workout will help to stop protein breakdown, it will also help more nutrients get to your muscles faster, and will give you the energy you need to lift weights. If your trying to lose weight then consuming simple carbs will cause your body to convert any excess glucose into fat which is what you do not want.*( explained more in the losing weight/bodybuilding section)*.
PROTEINSA protein can be considered any chain of amino acids. Amino acids are small molecules that act as building blocks for the cells in your body. These cells use these building blocks in order to grow, repair damaged tissue, and maintain the stability of their structure. Protein makes up about 20% of your bodyweight, with 60% being water and the other 20% being minerals. The human body is constructed of 20 different amino acids with a total of ~ 100 different amino acids available in nature.
Regardless of these different amino acids your body breaks it down into two categories: essential and non essential. Non-essential amino acids are amino acids that your body can create out of other chemicals found in your body. Essential amino acids on the other hand cannot be created, and therefore the only way for your body to get them is through food. The following is a list of the different amino acids
Non-essentialAlanine (synthesized from pyruvic acid)
Arginine (synthesized from glutamic acid)
Asparagine (synthesized from aspartic acid)
Aspartic Acid (synthesized from oxaloacetic acid)
Cysteine
Glutamic Acid (synthesized from oxoglutaric acid)
Glutamine (synthesized from glutamic acid)
Glycine (synthesized from serine and threonine)
Proline (synthesized from glutamic acid)
Serine (synthesized from glucose)
Tryosine (synthesized from phenylalanine)
Essential
Histidine
Isoleucine
Leucine
Lysine
Methionine
Phenylalanine
Threonine
Tryptophan
Valine