if you’re genetically predisposed and/or eat a lot of the trash vegan food that’s out there (guilty asf), get a blood test. i put mine off for years assuming mine would be fine. turns out my “good” cholesterol is in a great range, but my LDL (bad) and triglycerides are borderline high to high. to make things worse, i could be prediabetic too. i’m 33 with a 23 BMI, fwiw. i also have a job where i walk 12,000 or so steps a day, so i’m not exactly sedentary.
i’m gonna start by limiting my junk food porn binging since apparently diet does more than exercise when it comes to lowering LDL and triglycerides.
anyway, that’s it. don’t be me and assume your bloodwork’s healthy because you don’t eat meat or dairy.
Yes, exactly. I have high cholesterol and have been overweight since I was 42. Till the checkup at the end of May, when it was high, I didn’t give it much thought. With the possibility of statins, I stopped down all junk and sugar and switched to WFPB, which helped me bring it back into good range. Consume lots of fiber and vegetables!
Mini Psa: The fast won’t be successful if you have a large, high-fat dinner the night before a cholesterol test that requires fasting. That’s what I foolishly did when I was in my 20s, and I had to endure a health screening at work when they said, in general, that eating fish would lower my cholesterol.
It was merely a poor interpretation; it was good otherwise.
Get your thyroid examined as well if you have high cholesterol and it doesn’t make sense for your lifestyle. Although borderline hypothyroidism may not show any symptoms at first, it might eventually cause cholesterol levels to rise. Simple daily medication is the treatment (with regular bloodwork till you’re on the proper dose), and it may also improve your general mood.
Genetics has predisposed me to it. been centered on plants for 4.5 years. In my first three years, I had excellent numbers. They have been back up for the past year or so. After cleaning it up, I had it checked again, and it’s still not good. At first, I thought it was related to the garbage food. Better but still within the range where medication is required. After four more months of clean eating, I’ll take another test. My primary reason for switching to WFPB was that I will be on medication if things don’t get better. I suppose that after a while, the body adjusts to what you do.
Another aspect of this is that estrogen-containing birth control may increase a woman’s cholesterol and lipid levels! Lol, when my suddenly increased dramatically, I went to the cardiologist, who said right away, “It’s the birth control, get off of it.” A few months later, the issue was resolved.
Like you, I’m in the exact same situation. I thought that being vegan would keep me healthy forever, regardless of how much junk food I ate, because when my mom went vegan, her high cholesterol practically disappeared. And perhaps it did for a while. However, I picked up some really bad eating and bingeing habits during the pandemic, and as a result, not only are my LDLs elevated but also my A1C. I haven’t been perfect every day, and it has been difficult to overcome my food addiction. Someone once asked me, “If you’re vegan, why are you so thick?” at work. Even though I think he meant it as a compliment, I sobbed in my car.
Since I’m South Asian and have a genetic predisposition to higher cholesterol, I hope your doctor understands the healthy ranges specific to your ethnic group and isn’t making a general judgment. Adding omega 3s and increasing my fiber intake have helped me reduce my cholesterol.
Yes, without a doubt. Absolutely, if prone to genetics! I don’t have an extremely unhealthy diet, yet at 27 years old, with a BMI of 18, I was discovered to have fatty liver and high cholesterol! significant hereditary factors in my situation.