Macronutrients

Macronutrients – Introduction

As you're probably aware, in order to function properly, your body requires several chemical elements and composites. Although all are essential, some elements are required in smaller quantities, in which case they are labeled micronutrients. The ones that are needed in larger amounts are macronutrients and it's this group of elements that I'll cover in the following section.

 
The "Macro" family can be split up in 4 groups of chemical elements or composites: minerals, proteins (amino acids), carbohydrates and fat. I'll try to keep this as simple as possible, but if you feel like you're in chemistry or biology class reading these elements' functions, it's a good idea to roll with the terms since they're used in every nutrition or medical book, so it can make your life easier in the future if you do so. So let's start with the mineral macronutrients functions.

What are they? - You'll find that some books will count the number of minerals needed by the body in large amounts to 6, while others will add a seventh element to the list. The main 6 mineral macronutrients (we'll call them macrominerals from now on) are calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chlorine, magnesium and potassium, with the seventh being sulfurus, although some scientists suggest it shouldn't be included as a macronutrient since it's not equally essential as the others, but we'll leave that issue to them to fight over.

What do they do? - Macrominerals have several functions in the body, including the transportation of oxygen to cells, strengthening and functioning of the skeletal system, nerve conduction, muscle contraction, "manufacturing" proteins and regulating a person's bodily temperature.

 
More specifically, calcium is extremely important in a person's growth (which is why it's even more crucial for young soccer players to get the right amount of calcium in their bodies), magnesium balances heart rhythm and potassium is responsible for muscle and nerve reactions.

 
You might not have realized it, but whenever you sprint out for a through ball, jump for a header or execute a sliding tackle, it's these minerals that make your skeleton, muscles and nerves work together like you want them to. Obviously, lacking any of these minerals affects the same areas negatively.

Macronutrients – Proteins

What are they? - Proteins are strings of amino acids, which act like small workers in the factory that is each and every one of your cells. I could name some of the most important proteins our bodies require, but as a soccer player that doesn't matter as much. What matters is that you get a constant stream of “general” protein in your bodies from your diet.

 
What do they do? - First of all, you should know that proteins help with some of the most important macronutrient functions in the body. Basically they participate in almost all processes that a cell undertakes, from growth to repairing damaged tissue and so forth. So every time you scratch your thigh in a tackle or get a cut in training, these proteins will work hard in helping the cell regenerate and stitch the tissue back.

 
New cells are also created with the help of proteins, so if you want to increase your muscular mass, you'll need them in larger amounts (physical work-out simply acts as a back-push for proteins to increase the muscle tissue).

Macronutrients – Carbohydrates

What are they? - Carbohydrates are equally important when it comes to macronutrient functions as proteins. They're usually split up into several sub groups, namely soluble and insoluble fibers and sugars. Soluble fibers can generally be acquired from fruits (fruit pulp) whereas insoluble fibers can be obtained from wheat, corn, celery, potatoes and beans.

 
Sugars can also be obtained from natural foods but it can also be created artificially and there's quite a large amount of artificial sugar substitutes out there that are FDA approved.

 
What do they do? - The main function of carbohydrate macronutrients is "fueling" your body with energy. For every one of your actions, ranging from lifting your hand to scratch your left ear, to sprinting a full length of the pitch, carbohydrates are responsible for providing you with the energy that powers your movement. Carbohydrates also control blood glucose and balance your gastric system.

What are they? - It's funny how "slim fast" diets always focus on low-fat foods to make you lose weight. In fact, fats are actually an essential component of the body and without them we wouldn't be able to function properly. Gaining weight is not caused by eating too much "fat", it's caused by eating the wrong kind of fat in most cases. Contrary to popular belief, not all fats come from animal meat, since vegetables also contain fat.

 
What do they do? - Fats are responsible for the well being and functioning of our brain and nervous system as well as fueling our bodies with energy. Just like with carbohydrates, fats will act as an energy source and can be stored for future use. Actually the body fat that we refer to in every day (adipose tissue as a medic would call it) is nothing but stored energy.

 
Eating more carbohydrates than the body needs will make your body split up the intake, use the amount needed then turn everything in excess into the storage tissue that modern society hates so much.

Macronutrients – Conclusion

That was a pretty long list of essential elements, wasn't it? Take in mind that these can be further split into sub-groups so you have several hundred elements that your body needs in large or very large amounts to function properly.

 
As a soccer player, you simply cannot miss out on many of these macronutrients if you want to be able to perform and train well and you will also need these macronutrients in larger amounts, since you will also burn more energy than the average person each day in training or in a match.

 
Getting a diet that contains all of these macronutrients in the right amounts is not the easiest of tasks and it's usually best if you see a nutritionist for such a diet instead of picking up nutritional fact labels off foods to compare them in the store.

The information on this website is intended as an educational and informational source only. It doesn’t replace the advice of a qualified nutritionist, so it’s advisable that you visit a specialist before taking up any of the nutritional suggestions on the website. The author himself is not a dietician, so make sure you consult your family physician or dietician before starting any type of diet, lifestyle or nutritional change. Some diets may be harmful for persons suffering from certain medical conditions and the author of the website cannot be held responsible for any harm or injury that might occur by following the instructions and tips found here.