Energy Nutrition Constituents

There are six major classes of nutrients constituting to energy nutrition are: carbohydrates, fats, minerals, protein, vitamins, and water.

These nutrient classes can be considered as either macronutrients which are needed in relatively large amounts or micronutrients which are needed in smaller quantities).

The macronutrients include carbohydrates, fats, fiber, protein, and water. The micronutrients are minerals and vitamins.  The macronutrients (excluding fiber and water) give structural material (amino acids from which proteins are built, and lipids from which cell membranes and some signalling molecules are built) and energy.

Some of the structural material can be used to generate energy internally, and in either case it is measured in Joules or kilocalories (often called “Calories” and written with a capital C to tell apart them from little ‘c’ calories). Carbohydrates and proteins provide 17 kJ approximately (4 kcal) of energy per gram, while fats provide 37 kJ (9 kcal) per gram.,[17] though the net energy from either depends on such factors as amalgamation and digestive effort, which vary significantly from instance to instance.

Vitamins, minerals, fibre, and water do not provide energy, but are required for other reasons. A third class of dietary material, fibre (i.e., non-digestible material such as cellulose), is also required,[citation needed] for both mechanical and biochemical reasons, although the exact reasons remain indistinct.