e have all heard of the macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. The macronutrients are the source of calories, or energy, from our food. In the past, macronutrients received most of the attention. More recently, emphasis is being placed on the micronutrients: vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, and more.

There are many pieces of the puzzle that make up a healthy diet. In general, the more micronutrients that are consumed, the healthier the diet. However, humans cannot subsist on micronutrients alone. (If so, a daily multivitamin would sustain your entire nutritional needs). Humans do require macronutrients for survival, for within macronutrients are the calories. In our culture, most dietary problems actually result from an overabundance of calories. But in other areas of the world, the main dietary problem is a shortage of macronutrients, and thus starvation or failure to thrive. In an ideal diet, an appropriate amount of macronutrients is consumed to meet human energy requirements, while micronutrient intake is maximized.

The amount of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants) in a food is often referred to as the nutritional worth. The more micronutrients packed into a single calorie of a food, the greater the nutritional worth. Natural foods are extremely high in micronutrients, while low in macronutrients (calories). Thus, per calorie, fruits and vegetables have great nutritional worth! The goal is to pack in as many micronutrients to each bite that you eat. To do so, your bites should be more weighted towards fruits and vegetables, and consist less of refined carbohydrates, meat, high-fat dairy, and sauces (including sugar).

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