Fat! What's That?

         Fat. Who just cringed? Relax. Fats are not our enemy! We look at those extra pounds and say, I need to lose the fat, so immediately we assume that means we need to cut fat out of our diet. This simply isn't true. As with most aspects of our diet, fats just need to monitored and regulated. Fats actually describes a wide group of compounds which differ from each other structurally in ways that in turn alter their functionality. The important thing to remember is that fat is essential for a healthy body.
  We all need fats. When we have a balanced and nutritious diet we include a healthy allowance of fats because we need them to help our bodies absorb nutrients and vitamins. Fat also helps nerve transmission as well as maintain the structural integrity of our cells. Stored fat can provide insulation for our bodies in extreme weather. The goal is to ensure that you are providing your body with the food that offers good fats and little or no bad fats.
      When you examine the nutritional label on your food you will find that not only does it offer a total for fat, it also has a breakdown of saturated fats and trans fats. The first clue that  these two are fundamentally different is the fact that they separate the two. A simple rule to follow,both fats should only consist of 30% of your diet.        Saturated fats can threaten your health in large doses because of the affect it has on your cholesterol. There are two types of cholesterol, Low Density(bad) and High Density(good). A diet high in saturated fats coincides with high levels of Low Density Cholesterol causing a buildup within arteries. The buildup causes strain on your body and is responsible for heart attacks and strokes, as well  poor circulation in your brain. Foods that are popular for high sat fat levels include meats, egg yolks, dairy products, and lard (cooking grease). Do not think it necessary to exclude saturated fats from your diet, moderate amounts do not pose a threat to your LD Cholesterol levels, and those food items have other nutrients which benefit your body. Saturated fats do offer more energy than unsaturated fats, so it may actually be beneficial for those who have a rigorous exercise routine.
 Trans fats are actually a "clever" invention of scientists who wanted to find a more durable fat that would increase the shelf life of produced foods. These trans fats are often the culprit of heart disease, and in exceedingly high numbers as the use of trans fats has become significant! Deep fried food is often cooked in grease, and fried food is one of the most commonly consumed foods in today's society as many families turn to the convenience, both in time and money, of fast food chains. Trans fats are also found in other solid oils, such as vegetable shortening and margarine. It is very important that every individual take the responsibility to limit their intake of such products and replace them with superior fats whenever possible. I suggest reading ingredient labels and choosing items that contain flax seed oil, olive oil, and safflower oil.
    Thankfully we have recently seen a change in many of the practices used in popular restaurants chains as Burger King, McDonald's, and WalMart Delis have all made strides to switch their fryers to trans-free oils. We can hope to see more businesses switching their practices as first lady Michelle Obama continues to apply pressure to the food industry to improve their nutritional content, and at the very least clearly mark their products as unhealthy so that the consumer isn't being manipulated by advertisements that falsely lead many to believe what they are consuming is healthier than it truly is. That is a subject I promise to touch on more later when I start my series "The Price We Pay" which addresses obesity and malnutrition in America.

                  Unsaturated fats are considered to be the Good Eats of fats. We can divide this category further into monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. In their purest form these fats are easy to identify by their liquid state. Basically, if you are going to use a fat to fry, you would use oils as opposed to lard. Olive oil is an example of a good fat, although it should still be monitored. For this reason, I recommend switching to oil for stove top cooking instead of butter, and finding a mayonnaise that is made with olive oil. Nuts, fruits, and vegetables offer healthy,natural fats which means peanut oil,canola, safflower, sesame, and other plant oils are great replacements to lard, and also great snack options as they also include other Good Calories, like protein and fiber. Fish is also a great food choice as it is high in unsaturated fats and Omega 3, and is considered to be brain food, now that's food for thought.

Protein: Our Body's Zone Managers

             Proteins are responsible for keeping your body maintained. I would consider proteins to fulfil managerial positions that are very hands on in keeping departments running smoothly and keep to keep the body on task with it's overall functions.

       Visualizing the people I believe proteins would be I find my mind conjured images of neatly dressed, well-kept men and women with firm,toned physiques. Much like management, Proteins carry around a clip board filled with various tasks ranked by priorities with the intent to complete the entire list before the end of their shift. The protein staff includes essential and nonessential amino acids. Your body, for the most part, keeps most tasks running without much maintenence, these are performed by the nonessential amino acids that are produced and not consumed. Our managerial staff is responsible for providing the essential amino acids.

              Protein wants to ensure that bone and muscles stay strong! Lysine is an amino acid that you need to assist in calcium absorption, building muscle, and recovering from injuries (also said to help fight cold sores). Lysine is the maintainence man. Foods with Lysine include catfish,chicken, beef, soybean, lentils, milk, egg, chickpea(hummus). Also Allysine, a derivative of lysine, is used for the production of elastin and collegen. These are the things that will keep your skin from sagging from weight loss and hopefully keep you perky til old age.
   Tryptophan is also a protein that we may have heard of. Most people seek out this amino acid when they are trying to get more restful sleep, as it increases levels of serotonin. However, it necessary to our bodies because it keeps our chemistry balanced preventing things like seasonal affective disorder(the winter and rainy day blues) and  premenstrual dysphoric disorder (horrible periods). You can find this not only in the Thanksgiving turkey but any other poultry, as well as eggs, seeds, fish, and bananas!
  
        There are other amino acids that used by our cells to synthesize proteins, and added together they have the power to keep our bodies working like well oiled machines. Your blood, muscles, and tissues all need Protein to stay strong. These proteins are the team that will clean up a wound, fight an infection, and help our us keep our hormones under control. Body builders who take in alot of protein may have problems keeping their hormone levels in check.
    If you eat too much protein you will be at risk for high cholesterol,gout, or kidney problems. This is basically because of "overcrowding" if you will...it's like having too many cooks in the kitchen! Protein is durable and breaking down excess proteins can put a toll on the body.

The Carbohydrate Working Class. (Supervision needed)

       
         Not all calories are created equal. In fact, there are three different kinds of calories; carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. If we stick with the analogy that calories are the working class of our own bodies, then,like employees, calories come with a variety of benefits and drawbacks. In a well run business, it's the boss's responsibility to recognize which workers they need and to which assignments that person would best be suited. This is evident in the format of numerous applications we've filed and interviews we've encountered in our own work experiences.
            Let us look at carbohydrates as though they've presented us with it's resume. The carbohydrate is a hard-working but highly energetic individual. Give them a tedious chore or exercise and they will get it done. However, most carbohydrates are average to below average workers. Carbs need lots of supervision. This is why it is necessary to observe your carbohydrate caloric intake and make sure that the carbs you "hire on" are assets to your body.
        Carbohydrates come from two families, Simple and Complex. Simple is basically sugar! Carbohydrate workers come in multiple forms, and some are very essential to your diet while others are harmful. The names of these workers are often Cupcake, Chocolate,Apple, Pineapple,Spaghetti and Cherrios. While some of these applicants may seem more appealing than others in the interview, you may find that your character judgement was based on likeability and not functionality. Work with a Pineapple for awhile, you may find they are just as sweet as Cupcakes can be!

    Fructose is the hardest worker. You obtain fructose from fruits. However, there are those employees who always say "I do so much work around here" but we all know they don't. We call this poser "High Fructose Corn Syrup", because as hard as this Cornball is trying to work hard, he will NEVER measure up to Fructose. Why? Simply put, Corn is not digestible, so the factory says "we need to get rid of this worker, he is slowing down progress" and all these HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) workers become Fat. And if the factory doesn't learn to quit hiring HFCS then the quality of the factory and it's products will always suffer and may eventually close down.
     Starch is such a comfort. If Starch worked at Wal*Mart she'd be at customer returns, dressing room, and greeting customers with a smile! Can you picture Paula Deen? That'd be starch. Tasty pie crust, yummy biscuits, tasty oatmeal bars! Unfortunately, if you stand in place too long those starches start to hang around your waist like the cake doughnut you had for breakfast. Too much starch would also but you at higher risk of becoming diabetic, as starch is a sugar and when broken down it spikes insulin levels. All sugars must be monitored! However, we love a smile and some friendly help from time to time, so allow yourself some starch too.
    Carbohydrates are the bottom of the totem pole in the company. It's not that carbs are all lazy or don't deserve a higher position, it's just that they have to prove themselves. And if given the proper training, and going through the proper exercises, carbs can become an intergral part of the system sculpting together departments like muscle and stamina.

Understand Calories

 
      Every calorie is equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree at one atmosphere pressure. Essentially the numeric value of calories will reflect how much energy your body would have to use to burn away the calorie, kind of like cancelling each other out. On the other hand, if the calorie isn't burned off because you are taking in more units of calories than your body is using energy, then you are storing more of these calories in your body. Once calories go into storage mode they become fat.
    Let's say your body is a factory, and all your bodily functions are the prime focus of this factory. Now calories are potential employees. Today you plan on sitting on the couch doing nothing all day, which   means the factory will functioning very slowly and only needs to complete the minimal tasks. Now you eat a huge breakfast with a sugary coffee, creamy with high fat milk and a carbo loaded fried egg sandwich. You just hired about 800 or more calories to work in the factory(keep in mind 2000 is the recommended daily caloric intake).

              
   Your body is working calories very slowly sitting on the couch since you are not increasing your heart rate (assembly line is on slow), and if you nod off to sleepland then the factory tries to reserve energy (we are going to have to send you home early today), thus even less calories are necessary. So all these unused calories are like unneeded employees. Here we have all these calories standing in the unemployment line waiting for work, meanwhile they have nothing to do so the factory "lays them off".
   There is a distainful name for this unemployed, lazy calories, we call them fat! Now, fat on it's own isn't a bad thing. These calories are still units of energy, which we can employ should the factory ever need to work quickly! However, they are now "plumping up" so it will be harder to get them "off their butts". This is to the body what the economic burden of high unemployment is to tax payers.
  The tax payers are the working calories in this situation, the hard workers who are trying to pump blood through however many excess pounds hanging around. It's like the assembly line still has to finish a ton a work, but the line is still moving so slow because the factory is sitting on the couch!!! And if they don't finish that work by nightfall, they too will be unemployed and sent into the bulk of fat.
   The next meal comes and you eat another 500 calories, and your body still has no work for them. This is like June when everyone graduates and enters a workforce that is already scarce on jobs. And so the burden gets heavier, and now our fat levels are obscene. How can we recover? 

    Job creation! Our government has utilized this method often. We need to give these calories something to do! The factory contacts the laid off calories and says, "Hey we need X amount of calories to provide the energy needed to strengthen our muscle "department". Now you can compare this to the WalMart's summer process of hiring temporary employees. (The good part, we can exhaust the workers resources when they are calories, but when they are real people...well they still need to find work.)

The Dance

      The congo drums beat in the back of her brain and travel down her body like a pinball repenting between each curve of her body. Her bare feet pound the dirt, throwing sand in small arc as she pivets gracefully in a soulful sway. Arms extended and fingers bending to the sky she appears to be praising the stars in all their beauty.Those tiny lights sparkle in vain for she is conquering a space beyond the constellations. Just as nature wires together the shining possibility of the universe with pretty images outlined in one magnificant and stellar sky, the human mind too sets in motion the connect-the-dot synaptic chemical creation that is colored by our humanity, and our legacy is a tapestry of experience. Behind closed eyes she is free of form. Her essence is held together by only the power of her energy, her aura. The strain of her muscles, a precious ache, pulse beneath her skin causing the moonlight to shine off her arms in silver drops.
      The drummers increase the beat. Their hands slap the tanned rawhide and they chant in time. The sweet dulcent tones of feminity float gently under the booming bass of men. The energy turns like the tide pulling in and out from the cores of all those standing on it's shores, each time pulling back a piece of each soul. Eventually the sands are unsorted and the grains become the ground and everything is one. The dancer throws her hair back and forth and ripples spread across as the air changes around her and the sound settles differently in her steps. A drummer ceases to drum as he pauses to receive all that is around him. The absense of his beat is filled with the sounding ching ching of silver coins bouncing gently with the the shimmy of the dancer's waist scarf. The drum beats recede one by one, like the raindrops on the outer edge of a rainstorm, switching to the sound harmony of hums. Ching ching. Hmmmm. Ching Ching. The slow crackle of a campfire.
      Behind her closed eyes the dancer feels the warmth of the energy clearly in the meditated darkness of her mind. She can feel the rise and fall in her heart rate as she keeps pace with the slowing rhythm of the circle. Although her feet have been in contact with the ground, only now does she start to lower back to surface. Her heart rate evens out in a tired yet satisfied thud thud, her body's internal drumbeat encore. This is a lycanthropy of it's own. Releasing the sparks burning inside, refreshing the self for a new energy potential. Following the seasons of the self, expanding and retracting in a pulse of self discovery.