Cholesterol is oil like sticky substance,  more like oil that gets into your kitchen sink and eventually sticks to the walls of the pipe. Our liver produces cholesterol and sends those all over the body through blood. If we have more cholesterol than required, it is going to keep roaming around in the blood and eventually going to get stuck to the blood vessel walls. If we don't take care of it for long time, these are going to block the blood flow. Then all the trouble starts!

Most of you would know high cholesterol is bad for us. But can we survive without cholesterol? Answer is simple NO. We need cholesterol to survive. It contributes to the structure of every cell in the body. High cholesterol is bad but right level is required.

LET US UNDERSTAND THE FUNDAMENTALS IN SIMPLE TERMS
What can we do to make sure that we have right levels of it? It appears that, by virtue of normal human function, we are designed to have right level of Cholesterol. But most of us do not let our body live normal human function. We eat bad things, don't get to do normal days physical hard work and keep dumping trash in our body.

Let me explain little more on what this normal human function is. I am going to sound like a rotten old record player. Eat balanced food. Eat between 2000 to 2500 Cal food and spend that calorie by doing physical activity. Don't sit before that television all day and see how others live. Let us live our lives. It is that simple. But simple explanations do not bode well. Let me go few steps further to understand the mechanism behind how our body manages Cholesterol.

WHERE IS IT PRODUCED?
Our body has a machine inside that is designed to produce cholesterol. It is called liver. Liver produces right level of cholesterol. It we eat high saturated fats and trans-fat (bakery foods and other junk), liver is triggered to produce more Cholesterol than what is required.
Some foods have high amount of Cholesterol in it. Any living animal with liver would be producing cholesterol for its own use, If we eat those animals (liver of lamb, fatty beef for example), it is going to impact our cholesterol level significantly.
Step One towards lower Cholesterol is to avoid food that has direct cholesterol in it or the fats (Saturated Fat and trans-fat ), Let us avoid trans-fat completely and moderate Saturated Fats ) that can trigger our liver to make more Cholesterol.

WHAT IS LIVER DOING WITH CHOLESTEROL?
Total cholesterol in your body has three segments.

(1) HDL Cholesterol
(2) LDL Cholesterol
(3) Triglycerides

HDL is called good cholesterol and LDL is called bad one. HDL job is to go all over the blood vessels and bring all the left-over excess cholesterol back to the liver where it can be processed and expelled as waste from our body.
LDL Cholesterol on the other hand, if we have more of it, it will roam around as lawless militant and eventually get stuck the blood vessel walls. This eventually will cause blocks in blood vessel that might lead to heart attack, stroke or high blood pressure.

SO, WHAT DO WE DO?
You need to have more HDL and less LDL. If we do, then blood flow will be clean. LDL will not be messing up the blood flow. It requires discipline to increase HDL and indiscipline to increase LDL.

Well balanced food (nuts, seeds, wholegrains, fresh vegetables and fruits) that is zero in trans-fat, low in saturated fat along with good physical exercise (running, jogging, swimming, playing intense games) will increase the HDL

All the above, will also reduce your LDL

Next time, when you buy any product (claiming to be nutritious), just read the ingredients. If you do not understand the ingredients, most likely you are looking at a junk food. Avoid it.

Control cholesterol, and we can control most of the lifestyle diseases.

Beauty in living is all about having a healthy life. Billions of dollars will not give back the healthy body we once had.

Let us set our priorities right

Sugar is 100% simple carbohydrate with 100% empty calories with no nutritional value whatsoever. On the extreme side, Water is the only known consumable with Zero calories and Zero carbohydrates.

It is not that calories are bad. Calories are the cost we pay to get something in return. That 'something' has to be nutrition that our body requires for healthy living. The nutrition we need should come in the form of protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins & minerals.

So, don't let anyone tell you that Calories are bad.

As per the report from Economic Times, demand for noodles ( I assume instant ones) grew by 30%, salty snacks by 13.3% and bottled soft drinks by 67% ( Sugar water)

We have an opportunity to eat well and live well. But we as humans are very good at the art of self-destruction of health. If we eat this level of salt and sugar, what miracles are we expecting to improve the health of the nation! This is very disturbing.

Human body is highly resilient. During the young age, it can handle all these junks but at some point, it gives up. Loading of excessive amount of salt and sugar infested junk is destroying our current and future generations.

It could show mostly in lifestyle impacting diseases be it diabetes or kidney issues. Remember, money will not give happiness when health is absent.

Companies who produce and sell these products make millions in profit because these junks are easy to sell and the margins are extremely high. But, customers, you are on your own. Their profits will not help you pay your hospital bills and loss of your productive years.
If this trend continues, we are going to face severe crisis as a nation with obese, diabetic, struggling population.

Source: https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entertainment/personal-care-pet-supplies-liquor/fmcg-market-down-but-its-not-all-that-bad/92216746?utm_source=Mailer&utm_medium=ET_batch&utm_campaign=etretail_news_2022-06-15&dt=2022-06-15&em=cC5jaGFrcmFwYW5pMDdAZ21haWwuY29t

What we eat determines a lot about ourselves. After all, food is fuel for our body. Fuel has to be good for the body to sustain long healthy life. We do not compromise on many things in life - be it the jewellery we aspire, or the latest gadget. But then, why would you compromise and look for cheap food products instead of the best ones to sustain your body in a long run? Keep it simple and natural!

Healthy life, healthy food habits are not a gift. Gift you get through gene can go only to some extent. There has to be a hard work combined with smartness to achieve health and wellness.

But then, how to do that? It is overwhelming to understand what is a good food? I can tell you that almonds are good for health. Does it mean we can eat one kg every day? Olive oil is supposed to be good. Shall we drink one litre each day? Make no sense, right?

To understand how to eat for healthy life, we have to take some time to understand the basics. The success of anything we see in nature depends on balance. A well-balanced food habit can take you long way.

WHAT IS CALORIE?
How much calorie you should consume? Is consuming lower calories is good?
What are the pillars (so to speak) that forms the calories we consume?
What makes a balanced food?

Calorie is a simple math with Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates as follows.
Calories = ( 9 X Total Fat ) + (4 x Protein) + ( 4 x Carbohydrates)

If you consume 300g of Carbohydrates, 60g of Protein and 60g of Fat each day, you would be consuming (9 x 60) + (4 x 60) + ( 4 x 300) = 1980 Calories. It is that simple!


Calories we consume should come at right proportion from the three pillars of life-giving energy   Fat , Protein, Carbohydrates (also called as macro-nutrients)

You should understand now that none of the three is bad. We need fat, protein and carbohydrates. Otherwise life will not be possible.

You can consume either 2000 Calories or 2500 Calories or even 5000 Calories each day. It all depends on what is that you do day in and day out. A competitive swimmer, for example, training each day for 6 hours, swimming about 10 Kilometres each day would easily require upwards of 8000 Calories. When engine is running at high capacity, it requires more fuel.

Various research from reputed institutions such as National Institute Of Nutrition (Govt Of India) or USDA shows that an average adult with moderate level of activity would require between 2000 to 2500 Calories each day.

If we consider 2000 Calorie diet, for an adult, a balanced food would be the combination of
300g of Carbohydrates
60g of Protein
60g of Fat

As long as you can keep the balance of these three in order, first step towards health is achieved.

Let us understand the  balance  better. The team calories mean Energy. It is what keeps us active and alive. We have to ensure that the calories are not empty.

WHAT ARE EMPTY CALORIES?
If we consume a bottle of coke (500ml), then, it will cost you 226 Calories. This is pure simple sugar with no value to your body. It is going to get into the blood stream so fast that your body will not know what hit it and how! It is like taking a big hammer and give the blood vessels a big whack!

This is exactly you have to avoid when consuming carbohydrates. It is not only useless; it is simply harmful to your body.

On the contrary, let us consider you consume 100ml of milk. Instead of consuming coke, you made the choice of milk. It will cost you approximately 62 Calories. Good right? This 62 Calorie is not empty calorie

In return for this cost, your body will get 3.3g of protein, 41mcg of Vitamin D, 117mg of Calcium and many more. This is the fundamental behind consuming balanced food. If you consider calorie is a cost that you spend, protein, vitamins, minerals are what you get in return. It is simple as that. Always shop for batter deals!

LET US TALK ABOUT FAT
There are several types of fats. Saturated Fat, Unsaturated Fat, Trans Fat
Transat is bad. Fortunately, most food products you consume would not have it. You have to make effort to consume trans fats.

Unsaturated fats are necessary for you (nuts and seeds are full of it). Saturated fats are not necessarily good but it should be consumed in minimum amounts.

Unsaturated fats are further divided in to two categories (Mono and Poly Unsaturated Fats). These are lovely for your heart. Full of Omega 3 fatty acids. It helps to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke and helps to improve good cholesterol level.

Next time, when you see a walnut, give a big hug and a long kiss. Let me tell you why! 100g of walnut will give you 47g of poly unsaturated fat and 9g of mono unsaturated fat, 6.7g of fibre and 15g of protein. Go figure! 100g of walnut will cost you 650 Calories. But I am sure you will not complain.

You are getting too much in return. Given what you get in return, it is one of the cheapest nuts on this mother earth.

LET US COME TO PROTEIN
A normal adult would require about 60g of protein per day. He has to obtain this through his regular food that forms part of his/her 2000 calories. Protein is not available in all food products. For example, rice does not contain much of protein while pulses contain about 18% protein. If you consume 100g of cooked pulse, you may get 18g of protein. On your daily diet, it is quite unlikely that 100g of pulse is consumed. Even if you do, it can only give you 18g of protein.

Let us try eating non vegetarian then! 100g of chicken can only give you 30g of protein.

Among the three pillars, this one pillar is hard to manage. Unless we make a conscious effort to choose what we eat, getting that 60g protein naturally each day will be hard to achieve. The solution lies in getting more nuts, seeds and whole grains into your food habits. There is no other way.
We now understood the essence of what should constitute the calories   it is the right balance of the three macro-nutrients (Carbohydrates, Fat and Protein). These are required in plenty and hence is called as such.

Key is selecting the food products that will form your daily diet. As long as your selection of foods revolve around fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains, it is very hard to lose the balance.

Let us continue the learning in the next blog..

Have a healthy and balanced life

It is a common misconception that fats are bad for us in that they can cause weight gain in an uncontrolled manner. Not all fats are bad and we need certain type of fats for our general well-being.

The consumption of fats in the right amount is crucial. Triglycerides, cholesterol and other essential fatty acids are some nutrients that we need (a certain minimum amount) to function, store energy, insulate and protect our vital organs.
The fats food group has been classified into unsaturated fats, trans fats and saturated fats based on whether it impacts our bodies in a good or bad way.

Unsaturated fats are further classified into polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats, which both, when eaten in moderation, can help lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Examples of good, healthy food rich in monounsaturated fats are avocados, canola oil, olives, monounsaturated margarine spreads, egg yolk and most nuts like almonds, peanuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias and pistachios, etc.,
Most vegetable and seed oils like sunflower, soybean and corn, polyunsaturated margarine spreads, linseeds, some nuts like walnuts, brazil nuts, pecan and pine nuts, wheat germ, oily fish and fish oils are great examples of sources of polyunsaturated fats.
Ironically, food rich in good sources of unsaturated fats is actually necessary for us to lose weight and the fat mass percentage in our bodies. The fats to avoid are trans-fats or saturated fats. These kinds of fats are often found in packaged food such as French fries, cake mixes and packaged Ramen noodles.

Transfats as well as Saturated fats will raise our low-density lipoproteins (LDL-bad cholesterol) and lower our high-density lipoprotein (HDL-good cholesterol).

Examples of foods high in saturated fats are fatty meats (beef, pork and lamb), chicken skin, butter, cream, full cream milk, cheese, ice-cream, lard, palm oil, chocolate, deep-fried foods, as well as take away and fast foods. Foods like biscuits, cakes, pastries, and doughnuts are rich in trans-fats and should be avoided, too.
The daily consumption of such foods can be extremely harmful to us. An increased amount of LDL cholesterol can result in an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

Whereas, HDL cholesterol, which is sourced from good, unsaturated fats, can take bad cholesterol (LDL) from various parts of the body and take it back to the liver hence reducing the LDL. This is how HDL actually helps to reduce the LDL level.
In the short term, our brain functions are hindered by the heavy consumption of bad, saturated fats, and in long-term, a consistent diet involving such fats can lead to various diseases and disorders like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart diseases, stroke, and osteoporosis.
It is therefore highly advised to be more mindful of the type of fats that we consume on a regular basis, and to ensure that we include them in the moderation.

Vijaya Rajan, Founder of nutritious snacks business SIRIMIRI, has seen a 370 percent growth in revenue after she joined Amazon�s Saheli programme. By Rekha Balakrishnan & Tanvi Dubey Read more at: Click here to read the story

When you go to the supermarket breakfast aisle next time, check the breakfast cereals. Most of them will have MUESLI printed in big font. This is something similar to most schools calling themselves International. Whatever sells! There is a lot of difference between MUESLI and simple CEREAL.

One of the reasons we both started this business exactly to combat the sugar infused foods spoiling us each day. It is really frustrating that these types of simple carb-based cereals sold in the name of muesli. It is important to create awareness with the customers on spotting good food from bad ones.

Muesli is known to have more strong ingredients such as nuts, seeds and dry fruits along with wholegrains. Food we eat is supposed to get digested slowly so that it keeps the hunger away for extended time. This enables the body to digest the food and absorb the nutrients. Root cause of lot of our lifestyle diseases is the rampant consumption of simple carbs also called fast foods.

So, WHAT IS MUESLI?

A minimally-processed mix of whole grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and spices, muesli was first created at the turn of the 20th century by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner as a healthful dietary supplement for his patients. Although it has grown to become a dietary staple and one of the most popular breakfast in the world, in India, our breakfast items are still dominated by overly-processed sugary puffs, flakes and simple carbs.

SIRIMIRI Premium Toasted Muesli consists of 100% whole grain gluten free oats, Kodo Millet, Pearl Millet, Premium Almonds, Black Raisins, Sunflower Seeds ,Honey, Pistachios, Blueberries, Pumpkin Seeds, Dried Cranberries and many other nuts and seeds. We do not add any refined sugars, or preservatives, or syrups.

HOW DO YOU EAT IT?

Many people ask how to eat muesli. The simple answer is - JUST ADD MILK. However, one of the best things about mueslis is the versatility. Eat it cold with yogurt, eat it hot like oatmeal, or soak it in milk as overnight muesli to truly unleash the nutrition and flavors. My favorite option is to add thick curd in the muesli and consume it. Tastes excellent!

Just try once. You would have found one of the best way to start your day. Power breakfast for a powerful day

WHEN DO YOU EAT IT?

Start your day with SIRIMIRI Premium Millet Muesli as breakfast. Toasted Millet Muesli is delicious and is a great source of Protein, Fibre, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Folate, Vitamin B6, Vitamin E

After a long day at work, towards evening, it will be so refreshing to have a healthy snack. Just carry the pack of Muesli with you. You don't have to consume unhealthy snack at your office cafeteria that is loaded with simple sugars.

Not all cheap stuff you see are really cheap. It can be very expensive to your health.

Have a nice day!

February 17, 2017

I just came back from a Triathlon Event in GOA – India. It was an Olympic distance event where I first swam 1.5 km in the ocean, and then cycled for 40 km. It ended with 10 km of running on a hot, sunny day. This is my second consecutive year at GOA for this event. I took 3 hours and 39 minutes to cross the finish line.

The attitude of athletes who are into endurance sports is infectious. They are highly competitive, but simultaneously exude positivity and graciousness. All what you would want in a corporate environment, don’t you think? Mostly they complete with themselves - not with someone else. The endurance sport arena is where age is just a number - with no meaning whatsoever.

Endurance sport is a transformative and meditative game of the mind and body working together in symphony. The human body is an amazing machine capable of doing amazing feats – only if the driver of that machine determines to drive it as it deserves to be driven.

So, what is this transformative, meditative game all about? Crossing of the finish line is just a part of the overall scheme of things. It is the journey that matters more. It is the rigor of disciplined preparation and understanding of our own fragility. Methods to cope with those fragilities is what makes this sport more significant.

It is easy to give up – after all, 1.5 km swimming and 40 km cycling at around 30kmph speed is enough to tire out the common man. It is easy to give up running when your body is screaming with pain. So what do you do?

Endurance athletes thrive on the ability to talk to their minds and have that long conversation with themselves. It is the three plus hours of solitary time – rather, it is the silence that is deafening.

It is the difficult things we have done which make us learn more about our resilience. It is the time to convince the mind that what is difficult is possible – only 8 more kilometres to run! It can’t be difficult – one stride at a time!

It’s time to convince the body that it has got the energy- confidence is the energy. A confident mind exudes positive energy.

It’s time to feel the wind blowing on that sweaty face because I am running so fast!

While training for swimming English Channel, we as team undertook several expeditions into the sea. One of the events was a 5km sea swimming event off the GOA coast. The event was badly organized. Organizers put several buoys with flag on it but they did not anchor it well – 30 minutes into the swim, they all floated away!

We had to swim 2.5 km straight into the sea and return back. Once you swim so far into the sea, you can hardly see the shore. Two kilometres into the sea, I lost my swim orientation in the absence of any markers! In the massive waters, I was trying to see the target point on a foggy morning with no other human nearby!

That was the day, the strength of my mind and the hard work of my training destroyed my fear of adversity in the middle of the ocean. I started enjoying the push and pull of the tide and loved being part of that massive beast. There are some wonderful views one must see from the middle of the ocean with water to the eye level. Only sea swimmers know that!

When I was swimming in an area called the ‘Separation Zone’ in the English Channel, I saw a few jelly fishes. They looked light brown, umbrella shaped, just hanging in the water. I kept swimming. Just a couple of meters away, I saw thousands of jellyfish layer after layer deep in the water, as far as my eyes can see! I was startled – these things sting and are very painful! I tried to get away – but there was nowhere else to go.

And then I started enjoying the sight of these little creatures – yes, they were pricking me - yet, the school of jellyfishes presented their own enjoyable pattern. It is the virtue of mind and body at peace working together making all the adventures we do worthwhile.

It is a beautiful world, and we are blessed to live in it. Be it the natural beauty of vast expanse of water, or the long stretch of cycling or running trial on those beautiful snow-capped mountains waiting to be scaled, it is all there for us to experience fully. It takes an effort of the mind and body to be at harmony to generate the abundance of confidence and positivity.

Life indeed is beautiful! Good luck!

We keep harping the fact that all our products are produced using wholegrains. It is important to spread awareness on what wholegrain actually is. The article is referenced from Harvard School Of Public Health. This is one of the excellent articles I have come across that explains in a very simple and easy to read terms.

Whole grains offer a “complete package” of health benefits, unlike refined grains, which are stripped of valuable nutrients in the refining process.

All whole grain kernels contain three parts: the bran, germ, and endosperm. These components have various effects on our bodies:

• Bran and fiber slow the breakdown of starch into glucose—thus maintaining a steady blood sugar rather than causing sharp spikes.

• Fiber helps lower cholesterol as well as move waste through the digestive tract.

• Fiber may also help prevent the formation of small blood clots that can trigger heart attacks or strokes.

• Phytochemicals and essential minerals such as magnesium, selenium and copper found in whole grains may protect against some cancers.

Let us avoid highly processed grains, refined flour as much as we can. These modern practices do much harm to the health and wellbeing. We have choice to eat what is healthy.

Please do not ever believe sugary things are the only tasty things in the world. Life is much more valuable and we all deserve high quality lifestyle. It cannot happen without healthy food habits.

Please continue reading at the following link

Source
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/whole-grains/