cholestrol

Well I'm back after some sort of a hiatus. I have been buys with school and work. but man I have missed you guys.

While I was gone I was present with a question that I was not sure how to answer.... cholesterol how do you get it? well I don't.... so I wanted to know why I needed cholesterol. Cholesterol is important for the reproductive hormones that women need to ovulate and make babies. WOW, I did not know that. Cholesterol is a wax like substance that is normal for cellular structure and function. The body packages cholesterol in to low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein.
LDL has higher concentration of fat to protein. LDL is considered the bad cholesterol. LDL is the type of cholesterol that is responsible for promoting heart disease. LDL is also responsible for helping to provide building blocks for cells surface membranes in the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves.  So they can adapt to temperature changes. cholesterol also aids in digestion by producing hormones and vitamins.  

HDL have a higher concentration of protein to fat. HDL is considered the good cholesterol. HDL scrubs away extra bad cholesterol in order to prevent heart disease.

So with all this said. it sounds to me like we need cholesterol.... my last post I said cholesterol is only derived from animals and we should not eat animals.... I stand by that statement and here is why.

Our bodies need cholesterol so much that our bodies can produce its own cholesterol. The Brain is able to produce the amount of cholesterol the body need to fulfill its needs. Yeah still no meat!

What do I say?

Good vegan come backs:

Why don’t you drink milk?

                Answer: Because I am a grown up. Humans are the only mammal that drink the milk of another animal and continue to drink it as gown ups.

 

Where do you get your protein from?

                Answer: where do you get your magnesium?

 

We need meat to survive!

                Answer: why do vegetarians live longer?

 

Plants are living things too

                Answer: pick an apple and kill a pig and tell me that’s the same thing! I tell them you watch a video of a documentary of a pig slaughterhouse and ill watch a video of a documentary of a vegetable harvest.

 

So…. What do you eat?

                Answer: anything that dont shit!
                Answer: I don’t eat anything with a butt hole!

 

Why are you vegan?

                Answer: Im not! I’m a hippy! Mind if I take my clothes off too? (Leaves them speechless)

 

You are missing out on the joys of life

                Answer: if by joys you mean cancer and heart disease, then I’m glad I’m missing out!

 

Are you vegan because you love animals?

                Answer: Nope, I hate plants! Must kill them all!

What does vegan mean?

So I have talked some about vegan. I know many of you are either asking what is a vegan or some of you think you might know. Well a vegan is similar to a vegetarian... Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or poultry. However vegans are a complete life style. What do I mean by that? Well Vegans not only don't eat meat or meat products, but they don't use any animal products in their lives. For example, no eggs, dairy, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics, soaps, and any other products that are derived from animals.

 

 I am a cardiac surgery nurse and I see everyday the harmful effects that animal protein has on the body. So I decided to start my journey by just cutting out meat. Then.... I watched the Netflix movie Vegucated....I saw the animal and the things they went through. I grew up on a farm and we raised our own animal for meat and grew our own vegetables. I remember becoming attached to the little boogers and it was very traumatic seeing my friends being murdered! As a young adult (pre nursing school) I got a job at a meat packing plant (bad idea). FYI.... hamburger meat is the most disgusting thing ever? My dad told me as a kid that hamburger meat, hotdogs, and bologna are just lips and asshole (pardon my French). But its kind of true... there are parts of the animal in those things that you could not imagine. If you don't believe me just look online. Google "how to make hamburger meat" there are many YouTube videos. I don't mean scare you but you should be educated to what you are doing to your bodies.

 

Red meat is linked to 6 disease process in the body

1. A study from UCLA suggest that the proteins called Tau and beta-amyloids  (that cause Alzheimer's disease) are linked to the Iron in red meats.

2. Red meats have been linked to cardiovascular disease. What do you know cardiac disease to be caused from? high cholesterol??? Where do you get your cholesterol from? Need proof?

3. This study shows how red meat is linked to diabetes type 2. Bet you thought it was from eating too many sweets huh?

4. many more like colon cancer, mad cow disease, and it is packed with hormones

5. Besides what did a cow ever do to you?

It is proven vegetarians live longer happier lives. 

Protein

The #1 question I get asked is where do you get your protein? Well... protein is a nutrient not only found in meant contrary to what some may think. Protein is found in all foods. The fact is I am able to achieve my protein levels faster then non-vegan peeps.

Protein requirements are 0.9 grams of protein for every kilogram you weigh. do you know how much kilograms you weigh? For example if you weigh 150 pounds

150/2.2=68.1kg

Then you figure out your protein requirements by multiplying your kg by 0.9

68.1*0.9=61.29

So..... my requirements are 61 grams of protein.

now what do I eat

Breakfast
1 cup of oatmeal=6gm
mixed with 2 tbsp. peanut butter= 8gm
total 14gm

Lunch
1 cup lentils 18gm (OMG yes I said 18)
1 cup quinoa 8gm
total 26 (so far I up to 40gm)

Dinner
2 slices of whole wheat bread 7gm
1 veggie patty 13gm
a hand full of almonds 8gm
total 28
Grand total 68... see there I over. what did you eat today and how much protein did you have?

See here for a list of how much protein is in your food

the only one

What it's like to be the only Vegan?

I have always been that girl, you know the one who is on a different diet every week. This is the longest I have ever been faithful to anything nutrition wise. I feel great! But my family is still not convinced. They will take time. So right now I cook food for them and then food for me. I'm still substituting...for example I make spaghetti with out meat the ad meat to theirs. A friend bought me a veggitti. To make noodles out of vegetables. Haven't tried it yet... I will let you know. I work 12 hour shifts at work, some times 5 to 6 days a week. So being a vegan at work is not hard. I very rarely eat at home so being a vegan here is not do bad either. I just wish my family could share this great nutrition with me. I make good choices about my food, try to stay away from processed foods. So far I feel great and guess what I have lost 14 pounds in the process.

Cheese recipe

As I am continuing my transformation in my leptin I have been researching and watching documentaries on food. Growing up on a farm, I was about to have some shell shock. I learned meat is not that great for your body and your cardiovascular system. I decided to become a vegan...watching Vegucated on netflix helped with this decision. I initially had no problems with meat, milk, or eggs. My fall back cheat meal was cheese. That was until a co-worker who is vegan had given me some fake cheese. The best stuff ever!!!

1 cup raw cashews
2 cups water
1/2 large our 1 small red bell pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic
1lemon peeled

Blend all ingredients until smooth, then boil. Stirring until thick.

This stuff makes the best ever Mac and cheese! The kids never knew the difference hehehe
Since this experience I have been 100% this is my 1 month mark. Guess I just made a habit.

Continue my leptin

Continue with my leptin....as I try to change my diet times, I am also trying to modify my sleep times. HARD with kids fyi. So I turned to all natural melatonin. I found the spray so I can modify my dose (1-3 mg) depending on my level of readiness to go to bed. Melatonin is a hormone that occurs in the body to help start the internal clock be ready for sleep. With this newly found sleep medicine I began to research my circadian clock which is chronobiology (the study of circadian rhythms). Our circadian rhythm are not only or awake/sleep patterns but many other functions in the body that occur in patterns.

As you can see light affects your sleep cycles, so my routine of laying in bed surfing Facebook or pintreast had to be changed. This is my only me time to catch up on the latest gossip. I haven't convinced my husband on my beliefs yet so he continues to leave the t.v.on at night. Guess I might have to invest in a night cap or those goggle looking things. Short sleep durations are associated with leptin resistance and reduction. There is a lot of research on how dependent leptin levels are to you quality and quantity of sleep. I will keep you updated on my journey....

My leptin

Let me start with how this started..... I was given a school project to research leptin and how it affects obesity. Leptin is what your body releases when you eat every time you eat.

Leptin is responsible for several things,
1. It tells your body when you are full
2. It goes to your hypothalamus and binds to receptors the release hormones (to many to list).
3. It goes to the liver and tells the body what energy to store as fat and what the body can use now.

How to fix you leptin issues:

1. Avoid processed foods

2. Eat soluble fibers 

3. Exercise

4. Sleep times regular and when dark out

5. Decrease your triglycerides 

6. Eat lots of protein

http://authoritynutrition.com/leptin-101/

This a great resource to check out

When we eat as we are taught to when dieting, every 2 hours, we get leptin overload and the body doesn't know what to do with it all. There for we become leptin resistant. I just knew after this assignment I was leptin resistant. I desperately needed to get my leptin in check. I searched high and low and began modifying my diet. I watched some videos on youtube called leptin for layman (http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OjdnZ-8paXw ).  I started with the times I ate. I ate with in 30 minutes of rising in the morning, then nothing but water and unsweet tea for 5 to 6 hours, then ate lunch, then again nothing 5 to 6 hours, then dinner. I tried to keep my meal times within 30 minutes to 1 hour each day. For example breakfast every day was 5-530, lunch 10-1, and dinner  5-6. I tried to eat nothing after 6pm. I tried next to keep my bed time by 9pm every night. Those of you with kids know this is sometimes not possible. I stopped worrying so much about house work and focused on me work! Stay tuned for other modifications as I continue this journey.