This list is a categorization of the most common food components based on their macronutrients. Macronutrients can refer to the chemical substances that humans consume in the largest quantities (See Nutrient)
Macronutrients that provide energy
There are three principal classes of macronutrients: carbohydrate, protein, and fat. Macronutrients are defined as a class of chemical compounds which humans consume in relatively large quantities compared to vitamins and minerals, and which provide humans with energy. Fat has a food energy content of and proteins and carbohydrates .
Water makes up a large proportion of the total mass ingested as part of a normal diet, but it does not provide any nutritional value. Ethanol provides calories, but there is no requirement for ethanol as an essential nutrient.
Carbohydrates
Glucose
Sucrose
Ribose
Amylose (a major component of starch) Amylopectin Maltose Galactose Fructose Lactose
Protein
Essential and non-essential amino acids
Alanine
Arginine
Aspartic acid (aspartate) Asparagine Cysteine Glutamic acid (glutamate) Glutamine Glycine Histidine Isoleucine Leucine Lysine Methionine Phenylalanine Proline Serine Threonine Tryptophan Tyrosine Valine
Fats
Saturated (i.e., stable) fatty acids
Acetic acid (C2) Propionic acid (C3) Butyric acid (C4) Valeric acid (C5) Caproic acid (C6) Caprylic acid (C8) Capric acid (C10) Lauric acid (C12) Myristic acid (C14) Pentadecanoic acid (C15) Palmitic acid (C16) Margaric acid (C17) Stearic acid (C18) Arachidic acid (C20) Behenic acid (C22) Lignoceric acid (C24) Cerotic acid (C26)
Monounsaturated (i.e., semi-stable) fatty acids
Myristoleic acid
Oleic acid
Eicosenoic acids
Erucic acid
Nervonic acid
Polyunsaturated (i.e., unstable) fatty acids
Linoleic acid (LA) - an essential fatty acid
α-Linolenic acid (ALA) - an essential fatty acid
Stearidonic acid (SDA) Gamma-Linolenic acid (GLA) Arachidonic acid (AA) Eicosatetraenoic acid (ETA) Timnodonic acid (EPA) Clupanodonic acid (DPA) Cervonic acid (DHA)
Essential fatty acids
α-Linolenic acid ALA (18:3) omega-3 fatty acid
Linoleic acid LA (18:2) omega-6 fatty acid
Macronutrients that do not provide energy
Oxygen
Oxygen is essential for life.
Water
Water is also essential for life. It provides the medium in which all metabolic processes proceed. It is necessary for the absorption of macronutrients and micronutrients, but it provides no nutritional energy.
Fiber
Dietary fiber from fruits, vegetables and grain foods. Insoluble dietary fiber is not absorbed in the human digestive tract, but is important in maintaining the bulk of a bowel movement to avoid constipation. Soluble fiber can be metabolized by bacteria residing in the large intestine. Soluble fiber is marketed as serving a prebiotic function with claims for promoting "healthy" intestinal bacteria. Bacterial metabolism of soluble fiber also produces short-chain fatty acids like butyric acid, which may be absorbed into intestinal cells as a source of food energy.