Consequences of becoming a vegan

[Vegan Joe]

My doctor always seems to want to get me on some kind of pill.
My cholesterol has gone from 246 to 167 after becoming a Vegan an then to 191, and just recently 181, but this is no surprise knowing the big dollop of soy butter I enjoy in my hot morning cereal.
But probably the biggest surprise was:
PSA
prostate specific antigen
A test that is a not so accurate a test of whether a man over 50 could have prostate cancer. Before I was a Vegan, The test result was 5.0. The test range should be from 0.0 to 4.0.. A year after be on a vegan diet, I tested at 4.5. Another year later after being a Vegan for almost 2 years, the result was a score of 3.6..
So my doctor is going to have to figure out another angle to get me to support their pharmacy.
Sometimes I just love consequences.
Just thought I'd share.

[Roxy]

Wow! It's good to see that your health has made some nice improvements since going vegan. :)

Doctors and vets....drive me crazy. Always wanting to prescribe medications when people and animals don't necessarilly need them.

[tipsy]

My cholesterol has gone from 246 to 167 after becoming a Vegan an then to 191, and just recently 181, but this is no surprise knowing the big dollop of soy butter I enjoy in my hot morning cereal.


lets hope that your soy butter has no cholesterol in it!!! eek!:eek:

[tipsy]

PSA
prostate specific antigen
A test that is a not so accurate a test of whether a man over 50 could have prostate cancer. Before I was a Vegan, The test result was 5.0. The test range should be from 0.0 to 4.0.. A year after be on a vegan diet, I tested at 4.5. Another year later after being a Vegan for almost 2 years, the result was a score of 3.6..


have you read the china study?

because i have. and these numbers dont surprize me at all! :)

[eco]

lets hope that your soy butter has no cholesterol in it!!! eek!:eek:
Only animal based foods contain cholesterol.

[Joe]

My last cholesterol reading was 180, prior to that 140; both times I was vegan.
In the book "The Power of Your Plate" by Neal Barnard MD (he's vegan) he quotes William Casteli MD, who did a study of what affects the rate of heart problems; he said "we've never had a heart attack in Framingham in 35 years in anyone who had a cholesterol under 150".
Barnard says that "for every 100 mg of cholesterol you ingest in food on a daily basis, your cholesterol level will rise 5 points". Only animal foods contain cholesterol, e.g. an average egg yolk contains 200 mg. So being a vegan is good for keeping a low cholesterol reading.

[Monday]

I read an article recently and they said you should watch your saturated fat intake as this can increase cholesterol levels.

Monday x

[gliese876d]

I read an article recently and they said you should watch your saturated fat intake as this can increase cholesterol levels.

Monday x

The only vegan sources of saturated fats are coconut, palm and maybe other tropical oils. Hydrogenated oils can also raise cholesterol, I believe.

There are no direct sources of cholesterol in vegan food, so as long as the margarine is vegan, it wouldn't have cholesterol *in* it, but it could have cholesterol-raising fats if it contains coconut or palm oil or hydrogenated oils.