Batangas State University

Pablo Borbon Main I

College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences
NCM 105 – Nutrition and Diet Therapy
Reflection Paper of Macro and Micro Nutrients

To: Layperson
Hello, have you ever wonder why do we need to eat? I know that the answer is simple, we
eat because we need to live. But I want to go deeper, and explain what we are eating and why those
foods are important for us to live. We don’t just eat anything we want. Do you know that nutritious
food is the key for a better and healthier life? Here’s why, and I will explain to you what is
“nutrition”.
I want to talk about nutrition because it is important. It is about the things we eat. It is about
the molecules that we consider healthy. We obtain nutrition from the food we eat and, nutrients
are responsible for being able to perform the bodily functions that we need to accomplish on a
daily basis. Our body is like a car that needs “fuel” to run, as well as our body needs “nutrients”
from food, to work and accomplish daily activities. Nutrition is divided into two, macronutrients
and micronutrients.
The term macronutrients basically means “macro” means big, and nutrients means
something that nourishes the body. These are molecules in our food that measures in large
quantities. There are three basic macronutrients found in our food, carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
Most of our food have at least two to three of these macronutrients, however one over the other
have larger quantities. Carbohydrates or “Carbs” that gives the primary energy to our cells can be
found on large amount in foods like bread, rice, pasta and other starchy vegetables. Fats, fats don’t
actually make you fat, but they are another source of energy and it is important in controlling your
appetite, protecting vital organs and regulating hormone production. They regulate body
temperature, proper absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, provides fuel to the brain and many more.
You can obtain good fats from avocado, cheese, eggs, fish and nuts. Lastly, proteins are the
“building blocks of the body” they are like a millions of tiny Lego puzzles that works together in
building up structures inside our body, function and regulation of tissues and organs, maintaining
muscle mass, making your heart beat, and energy storage. You should eat foods with proteins or
made up of amino acids, because some of them cannot be made by our body that is why they are
called “essential amino acids”. Lean meats, egg, chicken, fish and seafood, and dairy products like
milk and yogurt are the foods that are high in protein.
On the other hand, micronutrients or “micro” means small and “nutrients” means something that
nourishes the body. You only need this in small quantities unlike the macronutrients. This pertains
to vitamins and minerals. They protect your body from disease, slow the aging process, and help
every system in your body to work properly. Vitamins are organic molecules like Vitamins
A,D,E,K, B complex and many more. Whereas, minerals are inorganic molecules in our food like
calcium, phosphorus, potassium and many more. We need all of them to make our body function
properly.

PS: If you eat the “right” and “wide variety” combination of healthy fat, protein and carbohydrate,
you almost don’t have to worry about your micronutrients, you don’t have to supplement about
this vitamins and minerals.

Jonh Carlo G. Lopez

BSN 2103