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Nick's nutrition page

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​The answer…yes! But it doesn’t have to be
Nutrition seems like a hard subject to digest (sorry, pun intended) but this is mostly due to over complicated sales jargon by big food brands. Let’s take it back to basics - here’s Nick’s guide to understanding nutrition! If you want to know more, follow the links at the end.
So why do we EAT?
Generally, because we like certain tastes and textures 
“Ooh, I could just fancy a………” 

​This is the reason our bodies are not happy, we let them down by eating far too much CRAP
• Carbonated drinks
• Refined Sugars
• Alcohol
• Processed foods
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m partial to the odd bit of tuck shop grub myself.  It tastes nice. It’s meant to, that’s why it sells so well. The problem being, all of the above has very little or no nutrient value. But here’s the craic - all animals need to eat for Energy & Nutrients.  It’s the main thing we can do as humans to keep ourselves Healthy. The CRAP has our taste buds so busy living their best life, we’re not focused on what our bodies actually want and need. Great for food companies ££££; grim for us!

So, what is all this talk of nutrients? I hear you say

Get this…you and I and everyone from the dawn of time have only ever eaten 3 things - Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats!!! They’re classed as Macro nutrients. The Micro nutrients within them are the vitamins and minerals. Along with fibre and water these make up the 7 essential components of a healthy diet (bear with me, don’t drift off just yet it’s about to get good). 
​See it’s easy - everything we eat is made up of one or more of the macro nutrients.  This diagram shows where overlap can be found. This is not a fully comprehensive list just the gist but it shows that all food is either carbs, proteins or fats.
 
Micro nutrients are found naturally within these Macros. So why can some food be good, and some be bad when there’s only 3 things we eat?
 
This is where a lot of confusion lies.  So, to answer this lets first look at what these Macro nutrients are and do for us. 
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For additional reading go to
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/eight-tips-for-healthy-eating/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/
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