The six basic nutrients your body needs are carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. A well-balanced diet with all these nutrients can help you live longer and healthier. They support your muscles, bones, immune system, digestive system, eyes, and more.
Carbohydrates are one of the three macronutrients. They are your body’s preferred source of energy and calories.
There are three kinds of carbs:
- Sugars: Also known as simple carbs, sugars break down quickly in the body. They’re found in foods like fruits, vegetables, milk, desserts, candy, and sugar-sweetened drinks.
- Starches: Starches are considered complex carbs because they’re made from several simple sugars strung together. They’re found in foods like bread, cereal, pasta, and starchy vegetables.
- Fiber: Another complex carb is fiber. Unlike with starches, your body can’t break down fiber. For this reason, fiber helps you feel full. It also helps balance blood sugars, support healthy digestion, and lower cholesterol.
Carbs should make up about 45–65% of your total energy intake. For a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s about 225–325 grams of carbs per day. In a balanced diet, most of your carbs should come from fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and whole grains.
Protein is another macronutrient, meaning it provides calories. It’s the building block for muscles, bones, skin, cartilage, and blood. The body also uses protein to make hormones, enzymes, and vitamins.
Protein is made up of amino acids. Nine of these are essential because your body can’t produce them by itself. Eating a variety of protein-rich foods can help ensure you get all nine essential amino acids and a range of vitamins and minerals like B vitamins, zinc, and magnesium.
Some examples of protein foods include:
- Meat
- Fish
- Dairy
- Nuts
- Tofu
- Legumes
- Whole grains
The exact amount of protein you need depends on your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level. Protein should generally make up anywhere from 10–35% of your total calorie intake. You need more protein if you’re more active, especially if you do resistance training.
The third and final macronutrient is fat. It’s another source of energy for your body. Fat is also important for your hair, skin, and brain health. Plus, fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K) need dietary fat for proper absorption.
The two main types of fats are:
- Saturated fat: This type of fat is mainly found in animal foods like meat and dairy. Eating too much saturated fat can raise your LDL cholesterol (the “bad” kind), increasing your risk of heart disease. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that no more than 10% of your daily calories come from saturated fat.
- Unsaturated fat: This fat is mainly found in plant foods like non-tropical vegetable oils, nuts, and avocado. It’s also found in fatty fish like salmon or mackerel. Replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat can help improve cholesterol.
About 20–35% of your total calories should come from dietary fat. It’s best to prioritize healthy fats from foods like non-tropical vegetable oil, avocado, fatty fish, nuts, and seeds.
Vitamins are considered micronutrients, which are nutrients your body needs in small amounts. They’re necessary for many aspects of health. Some examples include red blood cell formation, brain function, skin health, converting food to energy, heart health, and much more.
There are 13 essential vitamins. These include vitamins A, C, D, E, and K, plus eight B vitamins.
Vitamins are categorized as water-soluble or fat-soluble, depending on how they break down in the body. The fat-soluble vitamins are vitamins A, D, E, and K. Water-soluble vitamins include vitamin C and the eight B vitamins.
Vitamins are found in all types of foods. That’s why it’s important to eat a well-balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and fortified dairy. Each food group has different essential vitamins. You can also take vitamin supplements if you cannot meet your needs through food alone.
The amount you need varies based on the vitamin, your age, sex, and health status.
Like vitamins, minerals are micronutrients. Although you only need small amounts of minerals, they are essential for health. Minerals help promote bone, muscle, heart, and brain health. Some examples of minerals include calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and iron.
Each mineral serves a different function in your body. For example, calcium is key for strong bones, while potassium helps lower blood pressure.
You can get minerals from a variety of foods, including nuts, seeds, eggs, legumes, and vegetables. You can also take supplements that contain minerals.
The amount of each mineral you need varies based on the mineral, your age, sex, and health conditions. For example, if you are menstruating or pregnant, you may need more iron, and if you have chronic kidney disease, you usually need to limit your potassium intake.
Water is an essential nutrient that makes up about 60% of your body. Staying hydrated helps prevent constipation, kidney stones, and urinary tract infections. It also helps regulate body temperature.
If you don’t drink enough water, you may experience dizziness, headaches, or digestive symptoms. In severe cases of dehydration, you could experience confusion, kidney failure, and heart issues.
Your water needs can vary based on age, sex, pregnancy and breastfeeding status, activity level, and local climate. Most adults need about 11.5–15.5 cups of water per day. That includes water from both beverages and hydrating foods, like fruits and vegetables. Most people need about 9–13 cups of water from beverages per day.
For optimal health, it’s best to prioritize unsweetened beverages like plain or sparkling water, low-fat milk, or plain tea. Sugar-sweetened beverages like soda or sweetened fruit drinks provide water, but they’re also high in added sugars that are linked with type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
These six essential nutrients form the basis of a balanced diet, which is key for overall health. Here are some tips for eating a more nutritious, well-rounded diet:
- Ensure you have a source of carbs, protein, and fat at each meal
- Include a fruit or vegetable at each meal for fiber, vitamins, minerals, and water
- Lean on whole foods like nuts, seeds, whole fruits and vegetables, and whole grains as much as possible
- Stock up on convenient, nutritious foods like no-sugar-added dried fruit, frozen fruits and vegetables, unsalted nuts and seeds, Greek yogurt, and kefir for snacks
- Have a glass of water or another no-sugar-added drink with each meal and snack
- Batch cook grains or proteins so you can simply reheat them for lunch or dinner throughout the week
- Buy pre-chopped fruits and vegetables to save yourself time
- Add lemon, lime, or other fruits to water to keep it interesting
To support your health, aim to eat the six essential nutrients every day. These include carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. You can get these nutrients through foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, legumes, non-tropical vegetable oil, lean meat, and low-fat dairy. Also, focus on drinking unsweetened beverages like water, low-fat milk, and plain tea or coffee.
