The Junk Food Nutritionist

Thanks to the global pandemic, many people are unable to attend outpatient nutrition classes and individual nutrition counseling. Although I always recommend seeing a Registered Dietitian or other credentialed expert for your specific health needs, I believe in sharing nutrition basics to help people get a general understanding. Today, I address "Macros..." Graphic by Charles Deluvio Sometimes health & fitness influencers talk about "Macros." What does this even mean? Macronutrients, or "Macros" for short, are the 3 types of nutrients we need in large amounts. I'll get into Micronutrients, or those that we need in small amounts, in an upcoming post. Macronutrients are the nutrients that provide Calories, which is a measure of energy we gain from food. The three macronutrients are carbohydrates (carbs), protein, and fatty acids (fats). Sometimes alcohol is also grouped as a macronutrient, because it provides calories; however, it ...

By now, I think most people have heard at least something about Omega-3s. But it’s good to get some information about them from a nutritionist (not your neighbor, yoga teacher, or cat sitter)… What are Omega-3s? A type of fat. Specifically, they are an unsaturated fat. You may have also heard of Omega-6s or Omega-9s. They are also unsaturated fats.  If you want to get into chemistry, Omega-3s have a double bond between two carbon atoms at the omega-3 position (which means that the third carbon from the end of the fat chain not attached to a glycerol backbone). Do I need Omega-3s? Yes!