Bad Food + Bad Thoughts = Bad Cholesterol
As the ultimate act of irony, food which provides us with the essence to live and energy to do work is also responsible for any one or all of the conditions described as metabolic syndrome.
Street Food = Soul Food
An evening out with family almost always involve in a street food treat. It brings out happiness for all. The ‘Aloo Tikki’, tasty, bursting with flavors, pocket friendly and universally acceptable. Families choose a park or a zoo or a sea beach for a sunday evening outing and guess where the greatest crowd is, the food stalls.
What is bad cholesterol?
Fat is the primary and preferred source of energy for our cells. Fat is transported by the blood but it is encased in protein. These tiny cages of protein with fat inside are called lipoproteins or lipids. The movement of fat is controlled by liver and the amount of fat floating around is also regulated by the liver.
Any fat contained in food is absorbed in the small intestine area and released into the blood after again packing it in proteins. This is send to the cells for energy. The leftover fat unsued by the cells is returned back to the liver for recycling.
In between meals, the body needs energy. For that the liver comes into play. It produces VLDLs or Very Low Density Lipoprotein which is packed with cholesterol and triglycerides. It is like a protein cage with fat inside. Muscles and tissues extract triglycerides and then VLDLs become LDL or low density lipoprotein. After reaching the cells, cholesterol from inside the LDL is released for the cell. LDL also contain Vitamin E which is an anti oxidant produced by the body. The empty LDL attaches itself to any pathogen and destroys itself. Vitamin E also attach themselves to a pathogen and destroy itself. They both are on a suicide mission to kills external and harmful pathogens.
If your diet contains large amount of cholesterol or any kinds of fat, natural or processed, it is send pack to the liver if it is a left over. It is packed into a HDL or High Density Lipoprotein. Any leftover fat sent by the liver is recalled by the HDL route too. Since HDL brings back cholesterol to the liver, it has been labeled as the ‘bad’ cholesterol by the doctors and food scientists.
If there is any tear in the inside of the artery, the liver sends LDL to close the gap and heal the tear. Tears are formed inside the arteries due to excessive sugar in the blood which the body cannot get rid of. LDL particle has the highest content of cholesterol because the triglycerides have been removed. But where does this bad cholesterol come from and how does it comes from the food.
Toxins entering into our body
All that plastic waste reaching the oceans means that the fish that we eat will have good amount of micro plastic. So will sea salt.
Using a stainless steel chopping board instead of a plastic one will eliminate the chance of micro plastics entering body by that route. If recycled plastic is used to keep the cost of the chopping board down, that will be even more harmful.
We breath in toxins through air or by way of smoking. Our skin is subjected to tons of chemicals when we are outside. While bathing, the treated tap water loaded with chemicals is always attacking our skin.
Street food has the worst possible toxins
Some restaurants advertise that they use only mineral water for preparation of pani puri. The naysayers make fun of this. But consider what the street food vendors do and what ingredients do they use.
Lowest quality possible atta used to make the puris fried in the most cheapest refined oil. Many of the street food vendors used the left over cooking oil discarded by the top restaurants and hotels. Masalas and salts loaded with artificial flavours and toxins. Finally the water if not tap water is definitely tanker water carried around in buckets. All that is trans fat or bad fat. The only good portion would be the potato or the peas used as fillings.
Yes, the same street food which makes your soul happy is also causing all sorts of hormonal imbalance in your body.
Happiness is a choice
The primary work of the brain is to think. By generating thoughts, a brain is doing problem solving constantly. Brain needs to take decisions and order the various organs and muscles to function. It also collects feedback from all the senses. However something else happens when you are worried.
“I am a ticket examiner on duty at Platform No 1 of Kanpur Railway Station. Should I be concerned about the atrocities committed by the North Korean regime.”
He has a choice but he has to choose correctly. Wrong choices made by your mind can lead to problems. If you train your mind again and again to make a kind of choice, it becomes a habit. It is still your choice to choose what to be happy about and whether to be happy or sad. If the ticket collector is sad about lack of civil rights in North Korea, he could also be happy about being born in Indian city of Kanpur where he has a freedom to express. Remember, it is his choice.
Mind is like a dog. A well trained mind will always seek happiness. And end up providing happiness to others too.
A word about worry
A tragic or traumatic incident like the loss of loved one or physical accident or injury or even an admonishment can cause your mind to worry. Bad thoughts keep multiplying and prevent the mind from thinking about other issues at hand disturbing your problem solving abilities. This is also how chronic stress strikes. What you will feel is worry at work.
As unsolved problems keep rising and the mind is still preoccupied with worries, eventually you will feel that everything is turning against you. That is the depression phase. Everything around you seems toxic and daily living becomes painful. Within your body it is cortisol hormone working its black magic.
Cortisol is the stress hormone and it gets the body ready for action in response to a threat. Too much of stress or constant worry keeps the cortisol levels high in the body. Each time cortisol is released you will feel hungry. Cortisol is the signal to stop fat burning and promote fat storage.
Scientists keep researching the effects of cortisol and they are sure about one thing. Cortisol is one of the main causes of metabolic syndrome. It will contribute to increase in cholesterol. The increase in appetite will make you attracted towards the sugary items like pastries and waffles.
It is no surprise that when you are having a bad day, it is street food that can cheer you up.
Can there be a medicine?
Do not even think of sleeping pills. They are good as a temporary solution because they give instant results. Drinking alcohol with family and friends also gives you that relaxed setup for the evening. But you are actually borrowing happiness from tomorrow. Eventually that source will dry out into a renewed depression.
The most effective and working solution is fasting. Not starving. Fasting is a planned and organised break in food consumption. A dry fast involved a break from eating and drinking water. You need to plan for a fast and ease into it slowly. For the first time fasters, there is always the problem of acidity. You will feel massively uncomfortable and that is the time when you can break your fast and then try again. Start with the basic 12 hour fast where you eat absolutely nothing from dinner to the next day breakfast. Delay your breakfast as late as possible and advance your dinner close to sunset. Once you have achieved that, then go for a 18 hour fast followed by 24 and then 36. Once you wake you in the morning after a day and night of fast, you will feel that all your stress is gone and your cravings for sweet or tasty street food is gone.
And along with that will go away all your bad thoughts and your mind will be able to think again and solve problems for you.
