RedGage

Tapsilog Tandem

Tapsilog breakfast, short fortapa-fried beef jerky,sinangag-fried rice-, itlog-fried egg are favorite breakfast for Filipinos. Many small shops serve this type of food for breakfast especially in cities.

Tapsilog actually has other types or limitless varieties. We have longsilog, baconsilog, hamsilog, hotsilog, cornsilog, and many more. Others would replace the tapa with bacon, ham, hotdog, corned beef and other easy to fry dishes.

As I was doing a research about cholesterol in the diet, I have realized that these variety of breakfast treats which are favorites are actually high in cholesterol. If you would have this for breakfast almost everyday you should surely develop an elevated cholesterol.

I discovered that cholesterol are actually produced by the liver and aside from that we again add cholesterol level in the blood by the foods we take everyday. Since cholesterol or fats are not dissolved in the blood they stick with proteins so they become lipoproteins like LDL, HDL and triglycerides.

Fats are not actually that bad and we still need them for cell membrane permeability, synthesis of vitamins A, D, E and K, and even for cell hormones etc..

These cholesterol will start to build up from the time we are still young to the time we grow old. These cholesterol deposits can add up. Eventually, they can clogged up our arteries causing health problems including heart attacks and strokes.

Tapsilog is high in cholesterol since as you look at the three, they are all fried using hydrogenated palm oil-the usual cooking oil we use. The beef meat also is high in cholesterol especially if it is not lean meat. Longganisa or pork sausages also has lots of fats on it. Next, the rice will needed to be fried also, though it has garlic, it is still oily. Third one is the fried eggs. Egg itself is high in cholesterol, then you will still need to fry it in oil.

There is someone I know here in our place who has a fat body, and has a habit of visiting this carinderias or food stalls that sells tapsilog. He died at the age of 35 only. Though, there are other medical conditions he have, cholesterol also has a part on it.

The healthier breakfast according to experts should include oatmeals because they have soluble fiber that absorbs cholesterol in the intestines. Another healthy breakfast are beans. There are available pork and beans in the market but it has pork fats. Beans are healthy because they have soluble fiber too. You can make your own pork and beans but replace the pork with tofu. 

It is just so sad, that a lot of foods that you like to eat are actually unhealthy even deadly. The solution is to balance the intake of high cholesterol foods with cholesterol lowering foods. If you want to live healthier start watching out for the cholesterol content in the foods you eat.