Cholesterol

If there is a measure of health, cholesterol is one of the few that many people monitor and view as important. Weight, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, resting and active heart rate, etc. are all very important measures as well.

But, cholesterol is linked directly with diet, and hence directly with the disease and issues associated with a bad diet. There are two types of cholesterol, LDL and HDL. LDL is the "bad" cholesterol, and HDL is the "good" cholesterol. Their counts and their ratio to each other are important measures. I won't go deep into them here, let's just say that you should get a baseline check on your cholesterol to see where you're at.

So, what causes bad levels of cholesterol is our diets? Animal products. Fatty beef, pork, chicken, etc. For the most part, plant-based whole foods have zero cholesterol, and hence "good" vegans will usually have very good cholesterol measures. Now, even you're you're a vegetarian, you could still have bad cholesterol, if you're eating a lot of oils and fried foods. Be careful there. I've said this before, it's not "wrong" to eat meat, heck, I've eaten my share throughout my life, although I'm a vegan now. But, it isn't good for you to have so much meat, with so few plant-based whole foods. We'll talk about portions of food, etc. in a later post. Imagine your diet is bacon and eggs for breakfast, a roast beef sandwich at lunch, and some chicken and pasta for dinner. How much cholesterol is in all of that? Way too much! And yet, many people eat this way and wonder why their cholesterol levels are out of control. They'll eat this way for months or years, use drugs to lower their levels, and make no significant changes to their diet.

The good news, like diabetes and cancer, is that cholestorol levels can easily be controlled and changed, without drugs, through changes to your diet. If you eat a majority of plant-based whole foods, your levels will drop signficantly. Cholesterol is not something you want to mess with. High levels of bad cholesterol are a precursor for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, diabetes, etc. Lots of people say that "moderation" is the key, just have a meat once in a while. Well, that's great if you're completely healthy or if "once in a while" means 5-10% of your total calories. But, more often than not, after you count all of the meat, fried foods, and oils, it's way more than that. Moderation isn't the key here. You need take measurements, get a baseline. If your numbers come up "normal" then I suggest you research and find out what "normal" means. "Normal" to Americans is dangerously high in many cases. "Normal" to other people of other nations can be 2x lower. Again, read "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell to understand more about cholesterol and the statistics associated. Whatever numbers you get, work to get them lower via a plant-based whole foods diet. If anything, see that changes in your diet really does effect your cholesterol numbers, without drugs.

By controlling your cholesterol levels through a plant-based whole foods diet, you'll greatly reduce your risks of a plethora of diseases and health problems.