BY OUYR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NOT ARGUABLY knowledge is the best kind of empowerment there is. And women can do with it for presumably men are in any case better placed when it comes to being informed in a myriad ways! It’s in this context that the Panaji-based Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) recently formed a Women’s Forum. The Forum tries to empower women with knowledge and at the same time teach them how to have some fun, says Farida Dias who’s the regional co-ordinator of the forum. The forum has started off by having a series of health talks and in its third such talk on February 28, 2009, feisty nutritionist Sheryl Afonso e D’Souza (also the chairperson of the WF) clued up the gathering of women and a few men on how to deal with cholesterol. At an earlier meet, it was Dr. Riddhi Sampat who covered the subject of osteoarthritis and its management and, judging by the enthusiastic turnout at these talks, they’re apparently becoming popular.

Women’s Forum (YMCA) talk: Nutritionist Sheryl D’Souza makes
a fine point about cholesterol

At last Saturday’s meeting, the talk combined with an interesting salad competition in which members submitted their own recipes for judging, but more about this later. In an effort to make medical terminology easier, the WF distributed booklets in which the meet’s talk was summarised with illustrations, a kind of reference guide to read later at leisure. In her talk, Sheryl D’Souza de-mystified the subject of cholesterol. Cholesterol is not something to be scared about for it can be dealt with. As a matter of fact, the liver itself makes the fat-like substance called cholesterol for it is vital for the production of certain hormones needed for reproduction, for making bile (without which digestion would be impossible), in cell membrane construction and it’s also an important part of the nervous system… but alas, although cholesterol plays a positive role in the body, it becomes troublesome when we consume too many foods rich in cholesterol. And it is only non-vegetarian or animal foods - including dairy products and egg yolks - which come packed with what is called dietary cholesterol.

CHOLESTEROL

CHOLESTEROL doesn’t dissolve in blood but attaches itself to protein and then is carried around the body. Basically, there’re two kinds of cholesterol-carrying packages we need to become familiar with, namely high density lipoproteins (HDL) and low density lipoproteins (LDL), it is the LDL which latches on to what is called receptor sites…a surplus of LDL then stays in the blood to irritate the lining of blood vessels and eventually turns to plaque. This is the beginning of atherosclerosis (thickening and narrowing of the artery walls) which leads to heart disease/stroke if the problem is not resolved through a combination of making dietary changes and introducing a certain amount of exercise in one’s daily lifestyle. It’s excessive LDL which is harmful while the good HDL fights to protect the heart…so include foods which create good cholesterol or HDL in the body!

The idea, Sheryl D’Souza summed up, if one wants to reduce high cholesterol levels in the body, is to go easy on the consumption of animal products and eat more from the plant kingdom (for vegetarian food doesn’t come with natural cholesterol at all, fat yes, but not cholesterol). Cut down at least if not eliminate the large scaling eating of meat, poultry, seafood (shellfish, prawns, crabs, oysters are loaded with cholesterol) although fish has a good health brief. Organ meats like liver and brain are especially high in cholesterol. Saturated fats in butter, cream, margarine, ghee and the hydrogenated vegetable oils called dalda and vanaspati raise blood cholesterol…oil from coconut, palm and cocoa are high in saturated fats. Total cholesterol is the sum of LDL, HDL and VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) in blood which transports triglycerides…the bottom line is to check one’s cholesterol regularly and keep it within the normal desirable range. Generally speaking one should cut one’s intake of fats (especially saturated fats) and refined carbohydrates (e.g. white bread, bakery produce, roti or puri or biscuits made of maida, also refined white rice if you can, at least go easy on its excessive consumption). Needless to say, the more vitamin, enzyme, fibre rich food you eat the better off you’ll be health-wise e.g. vegetables, cereals and pulses, fruit.

And after the serious talking and a question/answer session there were the salads to taste! They featured a lot of colourful ingredients like lettuce, beans, nuts, salad veggies and fruit…judges Bernardino Da Costa, Vasquito Alvares, Lorna Pederson and Gwenda Otter gave away the prizes: In the non-vegetarian section Flora Alavares, Farida Diaz and Judith D’Souza got first, second and third prizes, for tuna salad and another tuna salad and Chinese salad, respectively; in the vegetarian section, Sandhya Telang, Lorna Wade and Judith D’Costa got first, second and third prizes, for date-`n’-palak salad, ladyfinger in curd salad and Slimmer’s salad, respectively. Other interesting salads put up by the forum’s members: a delicious carrot and peanut salad, mooli-methi salad and a salad which had only white radish slices to be dipped in a tangy sauce and relished. The Women’s Forum is likely to put all the recipes in a booklet to be distributed at a later meeting…the forum’s booklets are priced nominally but it’s worth becoming a member for all kinds of empowerment and not least of all making some friends after your own heart!