Cholesterol

[eclectic_one]

Just got mine tested again:
total cholesterol = 134
HDL ("good" cholesterol) = 54

I started eating more vegan foods that are supposed to be good for raising HDL such as avocados and walnuts, which seemed to help my HDL a bit--I think it was around 49 last time I had it tested. I think my ratio is really great too now

I'm not sure about what was said previously about vegans having too low a cholesterol...your body makes what you need, so you don't need dietary additive cholesterol. I suppose some vegans don't get enough of the good fats in order to process them into cholesterol, but I don't think I have that problem

[thecatspajamas1]

We are testing ours in class next week, I'm very curious and excited to see how mine is!

[sandra]

Mine was tested a little over a year ago (just before I was vegan) and was 4.6
I got results today and it is 3.8! Even the doctor was pleased, I haven't been doing anything special to bring it down and I've been eating vegan chocolate cake!
Aswell as that blood tests for my liver function were excellent when before they showed up that I had gallstones! I think the gallstones must be gone!

[Gorilla]

that's good to hear Sandra

i wonder if i should get mine tested, i've never had it done, i don't think i have anything to worry about but i wouldn't want to get a nasty shock one day and find i had high cholesterol... not sure if it's worth having it done or not???

[sandra]

You should Gorilla, it's always nice to know what it is! Like you said though, you probably have low levels anyway, as being vegan we are naturally healthier!

[Tigerlily]

Last spring I did some blood work to find out why I pee so god damned much. I thought I was just getting my kidney functions, thyroid levels, and glucose levels checked (or whatever test they do for diabetes). Apparently they also checked some vitamins and my cholesterol. I found this out a few weeks ago when I asked if I could have a vitamin test and my doctor said something along the lines of my vitamin levels where fine and he mentioned how my cholesterol levels were good too. Yay! But I'm still young, so vegan or not, my cholesterol *should* be good (unless I ate fried chicken everyday).

[VeganRider]

Got a new doctor last year and I wanted a complete physical. He said all new patients had to start with a cholesterol test. Had it done and returned a week later. He's looking in my file and looking back at me like he was confused. He said "These numbers are fantastic, I don't understand;" etc... I asked if being vegan could have anything to do with it. He leaned back in his chair, took off his glasses and said, "Oh, so your one of those people are you?" Then he proceeded to try and find fault with other aspects of the blood test! I never went back to him! The test was: Total-150, HDL(good)-71, LDL(bad)-64; I guess it's ok, don't know why he was making such a big deal out of it though. Test was done at about 4 years vegan.

[thecatspajamas1]

I just got my cholesterol level done, and it is... 134!
I didn't get the breakdown of HDL and LDL though, I'm curious what they are.

[eclectic_one]

I just got mine tested again and here's the scoop (in U.S.):
total cholesterol=126
LDL=63
HDL=48
VLDL=15
Triglycerides=77

All my other blood work was good too, even B12 (actually high) and hemoglobin

[fresquinho]

Is having too low a cholesterolemia bad for you? I had 91 a couple of months ago..

[fondducoeur]

Is cholesterolemia the same thing as total cholesterol? I haven't been able to find out anything about having too low of cholesterol, but I just found out mine is at 118. I think that is good, but it does seem kind of low...

[snivelingchild]

There's absolutely no evidence that points to low cholesterol being unhealthy. Some doctors say this, but it is based on pure speculation.

[steven1222]

I assume those "doctors" are meat and dairy advocates.

About ten years ago, I had a total cholesterol level around 85-90, but by 2004 it was almost 150! It is so upsetting because that damage was inflicted through forced consumption of dairy products, and because I might never be able to get it down to my past level, especially considering the fact that high cholesterol runs in one side of my family.

Wait. There might be a solution! Cholesterol can only be made from fats. Therefore, following a very low-fat diet without consuming excess calories must prevent much cholesterol from being made. Some hormones are made from cholesterol. The question is: In the absence of excess dietary fats, would cholesterol be extracted from the blood to produce hormones, or would hormonal production stop? I do not know.

[ssherices]

somehow mine is 109. All of my blood test results look amazing my doctor said. Being vegan must be doing something right for my body. The only thing that was a hair low was my pottasium. And I wonder why people worry about calcium and protein for vegans because mine are exceptional. Good luck everyone.

[johnspokes]

Hey I moved my original post to a new thread called "Cholesterol too low?!"
Check it out if you're interested.

John L