Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Food for thought

Forget your nutritionist.
He's long dead and his words where a waste of time.
Forget what your mother told you about proper meals. It was bullshit.
Forget your friend's and gym trainer's advice. They where wrong.

Meet your new deity. It's name is "Body" and it is hungry. After all... You made it like that. You've stretched the cord so hard it's ready to snap at the touch of a cat's whisker. Feed it ! NOW ! Your body in all it's functionality needs that one thing that keeps it running: ENERGY. Everything in the world is based on it. The very foundation of matter, the falling light, the movement of organs, chemical reactions, rain drops... and brain functions. And one of the most important function from my point of view is "memory". The basic mechanism of memory, studied thus far is said to be the continuous rearrangement, formation and deletion of proteins at certain levels in the brain. And I stated before that Energy is used in chemical reactions. Therefore out of these two premises results that in order to have a working memory function you need to provide Energy. And what better way to feed the brain with Energy that eating ? Well... you can do that or take the intravenous way of throwing Energy into the body. Connecting wires from a car battery to your head, won't work. Basically because the animal cells perceive other forms of nutrition (other than ATP provided Energy) as aggressors and react defensively or die.
But how much food will I have to eat to make sure I have enough but not overdoing it ? My reply: better have more than not enough. And won't that make me fat ? My reply: Yes. Yes it will. And your mates will make "yo' momma" jokes around you. But if public opinion means that much to you, maybe you should go back to sweeping streets. That sure doesn't require higher education. And you'll stay fit too. You can't not be fit getting minimum wage.

So what exactly must you eat to meet the high Energy requirements of the brain functions ? Well ! The first thing you need to be aware of is the Nutrition Principles. Basically these are the three main groups of nutrients that food gets reduced to by the digestive tract's juices. Every piece you swallow gets broken down into one, two or all of the three Nutrition Principle. The first group of NPs is represented by Proteins. You know where to find them: Meat. Now you will find all sorts of meat. Red, white, whatever. I think red meat has a higher Energy output that white. Go for pig meat. It will offer a lot to the liver to handle afterwards but it's the best there is to fill in that protein requirement.
Second group of NPs is represented by Glucides (or Carb ohydrates - improperly called). MMMHM ! Gimme that sweet stuff ! This group has a higher Energy output that Proteins but lower than the third group. It's the most enjoyable for eating. You can have them even while studying under the form of candy, chocolate, chewing gum, juice and so forth. Be ready to bite down or suck on 3 chocolate tablets each day. You'll find that sucking on it will prolong the sweet sensation in your mouth and it will make it last longer. Ahem ! Let's make one thing clear. When I said 3 tablets, I meant that 1 tablet is one full envelope of chocolate. I liked the peanut version of "Africana" chocolate. It's about 50 cents in US currency and 30 EuroCents in UE currency. Three of them a day. I started consuming half a tablet after the first meal and then kept the last two for after the afternoon wake-up. The last one was usually kept for the last break of the day (4:00-500 A.M. break). The movie went along smooth with some chocolate and Energy Drinks (another lovely chapter) and Cola. Imagine how hard must have been for me, a Sweets-Fighter (I think I told you I studied Dentistry) to work my teeth on that amount of sweetness. I was curious on trying honey, but never got to do it. Oh and the most important thing I almost didn't mention. Lecithin ! Chocolate contains natural lecithin. So not only will you take in more of that cerebral supplement, you will also get glucides in your body. Anyways, the chocolate part worked out fine. Now, a little bit about Energy Drinks ! Now... these puppies are loaded with caffeine. I used to administer, after my 1st year, around 8 cans of 250ml "Burn"/"Red Bull" brand. The effect after 6 years you ask ? I'm 90% immune to caffeine and after two cups my blood pressure is only at 60-120 mm Hg. And trust me, the coffee wasn't a cappuccino or a frappe. I would advise you not to go where I've been, but stay close. Say... two, maximum three per day. Or just stay away from them and let one can be that "in case of emergency break glass" object. You can use regular coffee and Cola/Pepsi. Either one is fine (as long as you don't drink the Zero or Max version of them). You might want to ask me how much. Well, don't exceed one 2.5 Liter plastic bottle. I have heard of reported cases of heart attacks caffeine-induced. In time you will get your body used to it and your body will teach you how much it can take. I won't tell you more about coffee. I was going to, but I decided to let you discover yourself. Still a few good pointers, I'm willing to let go. First ! Drink your coffee with sugar only. You get the benefit of a good Energy-rich, Memory stimulating, Attention boosting and Sleepiness dissipating drink. And it get's along great with cigarettes.
I covered this part here because it's in close relation to sugars. I hope nobody minds.

Now, the last and most Energy-rich group of NPs is represented by no one other than Fats. You hate the word, hate the taste (maybe), but you'll love how they break up in long chains of fatty acids which burn up a huge amount of Energy. Energy which will sustain your intellectual effort as you progress onwards. You most definitely can't get meat without a bit of fat. They work perfectly together. All that pork chop can't go without a bit of fried sauce. Everything that's fat and can be eaten with pleasure. Don't force yourself into eating pure fat cause you might feel sick afterwards. We're avoiding that. It's a bit hard for me to translate directly from my own language... But I'll tell you one thing: fried taters are excellent in any country you're in !!! So just know that fats mean highest Energy.

You can add whatever spices you like to mask the same taste over and over. It's not a problem. Eat every break in the program I gave you. If you feel you can do it.
Just remember that your body needs a lot of Energy to accept the intake and do the storage of so much information. Perhaps I didn't answer the quantity question. How much should I eat at one meal ? Answer: As much as you can. But only do the main course during breaks. You can't study and eat properly.

I hope you're in the clear with which food group is better for Energy output. And I hope you understood a few things about caffeine as well. If you have any questions, just leave a comment and I'll answer it as fast and as correctly as I afford to.

You will most probably throw curse words at me when you look in the mirror after the session. But perhaps you will forget about it when you look at yourself in the exam grades.

I said next time medication will be covered. It's an important part, without a shade of doubt.

Regards,
InT











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