Do some foods contain more than 1 macro-nutrient? Are there foods with the 3 macro-nutrients (fats, carbohydrates, and proteins)? Yes, food can contain a variety of nutrients-macro-nutrients in specific. In this post, we’ll look at the different foods with different macro-nutrients.
A common question is whether there are foods that contain a protein or carbohydrate or fats and if there are such foods with more than 1 macro-nutrient then which macro-nutrient are they classified as? Indeed, you can find a food that maybe contains carbohydrates and proteins. For example, dried cooked beans contain carbohydrates, and smaller quantities of proteins while the fat amount is negligible. The same applies to similar portion sizes per serving of porridge, cassava, cooked rice, or cooked bananas, which also contain more carbohydrates than proteins.
Yet other foods may contain all 3 macro-nutrients but in different amounts. For example, milk can be categorized as Non-fat, Low fat or Whole milk. Milk has higher amounts of carbohydrates, and lesser portions of proteins. It contains lactose, a type of carbohydrate, and is rich in protein. But the difference in types of milk is distinguished by the amount of fats it contains. For milk of similar portion sizes per serving (250 ml) -Non-fat milk has negligible amounts of fats, low-fat milk has about 5 g and whole milk contains 8 g.
Other protein-rich foods such as meat and eggs contain 2 macro-nutrients i.e fats and proteins. While the protein in all meat remains the same, the amount of fats in either lean meat, medium-fat, or high-fat meat varies. Vegetables also contain mainly 2 macro-nutrients namely carbohydrates and small amounts of proteins.
Majorly, you will tend to note that the classification of foods as either macro-nutrient is dependent on the macro-nutrient which is in high amounts.
However, several foods only contain 1 macro-nutrient(either fats, carbohydrates or proteins- macro-nutrients that contain calories). For example fruits such as apples, oranges, pears, and grapes contain mainly carbohydrates, while other macro-nutrients are negligible. Sugar also contains only carbohydrates. Fats e.g. margarine, oils contain the macro-nutrient- fats, no other macro-nutrients.
And of course, most foods contain water-a macro-nutrient but in this post we were mainly looking at the other 3 macro-nutrients.
Most foods contain more than one macro-nutrient (fats,carbohydrates or proteins). They are mainly but not always classified under the macro-nutrient in the highest amount.