Micros Vs Macros: The Science Of Finding Balance In Your Diet

“Taking just one nutrient is going to be a bottleneck problem if we are not consuming all of the other nutrients”.?

- Prof. Julia Rucklidge

Julia Rucklidge and I extensively discussed the importance of micronutrients? in our diets during our episode on my podcast, The EDGE. Julia Rucklidge is a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Canterbury and the director of Te Puna Toiora, the Mental Health and Nutrition Research Lab. She is well known for her research investigating the interface between nutrition and mental health, and has published over a hundred empirical papers.?

You can watch the full episode with Julia Rucklidge here, or click here to stream it on your preferred podcast streaming channel.

Why do we need to talk about micro and macro nutrients??

While talking about food, most of us just think about the macronutrients—the fats, proteins, and carbohydrates—and how to strike a balance between them so as to achieve our health goals. What we generally miss out on, due to our focus on macronutrients, are the micronutrients. Micronutrients are the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.?

Due to an increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods, we are getting adequate, if not an excess of, macronutrients; but the micronutrient consumption is close to nil. All of Julia’s research points towards the fact that people need to be at least equally concerned about their micronutrient content as they are about macronutrients.

If you want to begin eating a balanced diet, which takes care of both your micros and micros, I strongly suggest speaking to a physician to plan your journey. You can click here to book a session with me, and allow me to help you figure out the best way forward.??

Micronutrients are extremely important for the normal functioning of the brain. They play a crucial role in the formation of:

• Dopamine
• Serotonin
• Adrenalin?

Micronutrients act as co-factors for enzymes involved in the formation of these neurotransmitters.?

What’s important to remember is that there is no one particular micronutrient that can do the magic. It is the entire array of micronutrients that the human body needs to reep the benefits.

When we read about the benefits of a particular vitamin or mineral we think about focusing on it and getting in on that whole list of benefits. However, it is also not advisable to focus on only one vitamin or mineral, because:

• Excess of one can cause deficiency of the other or vice versa.
• Excess or deficiency of one can become a rate limiting step for other reactions in the body. This means that when any one particular vitamin or mineral is in excess or a deficient state, it can impair your body’s normal functioning.?

Since we only get vitamins and minerals from the food we eat, it is important that we eat a full array of foods, a balanced diet, to ensure this supply.?

Deficiencies & Supplements

While testing for vitamin and minerals deficiencies, the general protocol focuses on zinc, vitamin D, and a few others. But, to arrive at a conclusion to check for any nutritional deficiencies, it is important that all the 30 vitamins and minerals are assessed. Professor Rucklidge does not consider serum tests to be good indicators of deficiencies but they can definitely help pick up some serious markers. This is mainly because the results of a particular person are being calculated on the basis of the average while ignoring individual factors, like genetics, stress, medications, and growth spurt. All of these factors have an impact and individually determine the deficiency state of an individual.?

When I was down with Covid and had really low vitamin B levels, I was advised to take vitamin B shots. Post the shots, even though my vitamin B levels were well within range, my homocysteine levels—which require vitamin B to come down to normal—were still quite high. To which Professor Julia added that such combined diagnosis help decide the direction of medication.

How to get started?

Want to include micronutrients in your diet? Here are some recommendations, to help you begin:?

1. Magnesium?

400 mg per day, taken with dinner?

1. Omega 3 and 6

1500mg per day, taken in the evening?

1. Vitamin B Complex

Check your levels with your doctor and ensure you have optimal levels with the help of orals and injectables as needed??

1. Vitamin D?

Check your levels with your doctor and ensure you have optimal levels with the help of orals and injectables as needed??

1. Calcium?

1000mg per day, taken with food?

Here are some of my other biohacks to keep in mind when it comes to your micros:

• Enhance energy, keeping glucose spikes at bay, by consuming one full fruit (with its skin) for a snack in the afternoon.?
• Improve immune cell function by squeezing the juice of two medium-sized lemons into a glass of warm water and drinking it first thing in the morning.
• Improve immune cell function by soaking in the sun for 30 minutes each morning, with appropriate sunscreen coverage, to get the natural dose of vitamin D you need each day.

Book a session with me, and let’s chat about getting you started on your health journey.??

If you found this topic of interest, then check out the podcast episode I hosted on my podcast, The EDGE, with Julia Rucklidge on micronutrients and macronutrients. You can watch the full episode here, or click here to stream it on your preferred podcast streaming platform.

This newsletter is a part of our ongoing series The Longevity Hack. Our aim is to help you understand the science, learn to recognize the markers of ageing, and develop biohacks for each of these.?

You can read the previous editions here.?

Curious to know more about longevity, ageing, and how you can cultivate a lifestyle that will help you live longer, healthier, and happier???

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