In this module and the next we will be mostly expanding upon the last point listed above. As we mentioned in the last module it is very possible for an individual to be of healthy weight, but have a waist circumference or other health marker which places them in a higher risk category. We all know someone who isn’t overweight, doesn’t have an obviously oversized waist but who would like to carry less bodyfat or be more muscular – the reason for both of these is at least partially the term we discussed in the last module, body composition.
While ‘weight loss’ per se is at least initially the goal for a lot of people, and while it can indeed reduce the risk that overweight populations have in relation to long-term disease, it is by far not the whole picture. An individual with more muscle mass and less bodyfat at a given total bodyweight will in general have a far better hormonal profile, blood lipid profile and immune system alongside a lower risk of various diseases. Moreover, a leaner, more muscular individual will be more capable of engaging in exercise which has almost innumerable benefits. Additionally, speaking only about calories doesn’t give any information about the nutrient content of a food – and it is therefore to this subject that we turn over the next three modules.
In module 2, we will be discussing the macronutrients protein, carbohydrate and fat, which we are sure you have heard of. The macronutrients provide the calories which foods contain (we’ll explain this in a second) but also have specific functions within the body. Without consuming the right amount of each within a certain range, we run the risk of having poor health independent of our total bodyweight. To make a more basic point, your macronutrient intake can play a large role in your health at a given bodyweight as well as the composition of that weight. If you have desires of carrying a relatively large amount of muscle mass, whatever that means to you, and having a lower bodyfat percentage, it is this module to which you should direct a lot of your attention.
Note: Alcohol is also, strictly speaking, a macronutrient. It will be briefly mentioned a few times throughout this module for the sake of completeness and to give you something of a working knowledge of its impacts, but will not be delved into in great detail as it is a complex topic in and of itself and covered on the BTN Practical Academy.
The most important thing to note for now, outside of what is mentioned here, is that alcohol has profound effects on your health independent of its calorie value. Excessive consumption is associated with liver and cardiovascular health problems, while drunken behaviour is one of the leading causes of accidents, injuries, traffic incidents and violence (domestic and public). Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with improved health in comparison to being teetotal, but the amount of alcohol that constitutes ‘moderate’ is relatively low. The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) recommended in 2016 that you drink no more than 14 units of alcohol over 7 days, a value which goes for both men and women.
It is also heavily advised that everyone includes alcohol free days. Check www.drinkaware.co.uk for more information and to see how many drinks that actually constitutes, and join us on the Practical Academy to learn the biological mechanisms involved with alcohol metabolism.
Here and in the next two modules we will be focusing on constituent parts of foods because this gives you a grounded understanding of how things ‘work’. You can consider this as looking at nutrition with a high level of magnification. In later modules, we will then zoom out and talk about the way you can actually implement the knowledge you will gain here by altering your food choices and building meals differently. While macronutrients and micronutrients make up nutrition, our diet is made up of food and we believe you need to understand both.
As a final introductory note, this module and the next two give in-depth theoretical overviews of nutrition, but we will not go into much detail about how to actually apply this to your diet – that’s the role of the remaining modules. Here we aim to provide you with the theory: the detailed understanding of exactly what it is your body needs to thrive, and then we will arm you with the tools to give it what it wants every single day. Please don’t be overwhelmed by the numbers, the terminology, the maths and the science, because it’s all necessary and you have as much time as you need in order to understand it all. Take your time to read and assess, use the calculation flowchart in the summary along with a pen and paper (and calculator!) to write down and understand exactly where you need to aim for.