# Cholesterol went from 400+ to 143!



## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

About 5 years ago my total cholesterol was a bit over 400. I quit eating red meat and it went to around 300 two years ago. I got my results this morning and my total cholesterol is 143! :dance:

About 9 months ago I became an ovo-vegan. That means I don't eat meat or dairy products. I do on rare occasions eat fish. Mostly when I've been invited to someone's house and they can't figure out what to make for me, I'll tell them to make fish.

I took Lipitor and other various statin drugs and followed my doctors diet for 7 years and my cholesterol kept going up. I was on a statin drug when my cholesterol topped 400.

It is so nice to have concrete evidence that this method of eating is working for me! I knew that I felt a lot better and had dropped weight, but this is the first concrete thing I have to show people that what you eat makes a difference. :banana:


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Wow!!!!! Congratulations.


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## galfriend (Nov 19, 2004)

That's wonderful TxMex  

I think you have just given me the incentive kick I've needed!

I've had high cholesterol for yrs. Can't take the statin's, they cause several muscle cramps for me, besides not working for me either. I cant tolerate milk any ways, so I have been using Almond milk. I won't miss eating any meat either.

Thanks for posting, and Congrats to You!


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

Statins caused me to have severe panic attacks. 

Most people don't know that statin drugs are only effective for a very small percentage of the population.


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## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

I guess that is good, but what concerns me is that cholesterol is used to make steroid hormones, so why was cholesterol building up rather than being converted to steroids (cortisol, progesterone, testosterone, dhea, etc)?


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## Wanderer (Aug 22, 2011)

TxMex said:


> About 5 years ago my total cholesterol was a bit over 400. I quit eating red meat and it went to around 300 two years ago. I got my results this morning and my total cholesterol is 143! :dance:
> 
> About 9 months ago I became an ovo-vegan. That means I don't eat meat or dairy products. I do on rare occasions eat fish. Mostly when I've been invited to someone's house and they can't figure out what to make for me, I'll tell them to make fish.


I'm a bit confused (but glad to hear your cholesterol came down). Ovo means egg, so ovo vegetarian is one who avoids meat and dairy products but eats eggs. Vegans eat no animal products at all and most won't even wear products made from animals. I think you mean you are a pescatarian vegetarian (pesca = fish). 

Here is a decent description from WebMD:

_The simplest definition of vegetarianism is a diet free of meat, fish, and fowl flesh. But eating habits of vegetarians cover a wide spectrum. At one end are lacto-ovo vegetarians who avoid animal flesh but eat eggs and milk products. At the other end are vegans, who forego eating (and often wearing) all animal-based products, honey included. Raw foodists are vegans who eat mainly raw fruits, vegetables, legumes, sprouts, and nuts.

There are also pescatarians, vegetarians who eat fish and seafood, and lacto-vegetarians, who eat dairy products but not eggs. Fruitarians follow a diet that includes fruits, nuts, seeds, and other plant food._


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

Wanderer said:


> I'm a bit confused (but glad to hear your cholesterol came down). Ovo means egg, so ovo vegetarian is one who avoids meat and dairy products but eats eggs. Vegans eat no animal products at all and most won't even wear products made from animals. I think you mean you are a pescatarian vegetarian (pesca = fish).
> 
> Here is a decent description from WebMD:
> 
> ...


Gee....thanks for taking the time(and effort!) to try and prove that I'm wrong. 

Ovo-vegan....not vegetarian. I do not eat meat or dairy. I do eat eggs....hence the 'ovo'. I was trying to be scrupulously honest, so I mentioned the exception to my diet of very occasionally eating fish. The average person panics when you tell them you are a vegan and they have no idea what to cook. Especially in the south...meals revolve around some kind of meat. So I tell them that I'll eat a little fish. I would hate to make someone feel awkward over something as unimportant as a single occasional meal, so I eat a bit of fish. 

I do not eat this way out of some kind of tree hugger idealism! I regularly help the neighbors butcher their animals and shoot varmints that are detrimental to my garden. I eat this way because it is what my body does best with. 

Further constructive, positive responses are welcome. It drives me nuts when people go to so much effort to be negative and critical.


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## Wanderer (Aug 22, 2011)

I didn't mean to offend you. You said you were ovo-vegan but talked about eating fish. You did not state you also ate eggs. Ovo=eggs, not fish, hence my confusion.


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

EXCELLENT good news. This is good information to have and pass along!!


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## dirtman (Sep 15, 2011)

About 25 years ago I was working as a project manager for a company that installed paint systems in auto factories and was on the road alot, eating at fast food places most of the time. My cholesterol went over 300 and I had severe sinus infections several time a year. When I lost that job my DW and I decided we needed to do something about that situation and gave up on meat and fish though we still used milk and cheese. After about a year my cholesterol was down and the sinus problems went away. Don't know for sure but I beleve it was the change of diet. Haven't eaten meat since then and now I can hardly stand the sight of it. It's not our religion though. All l our kids eat meat. It's just a choice,


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## Lizza (Nov 30, 2005)

Congratulations!!! Wonderful news.


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## ELOCN (Jun 13, 2004)

Good for you!!!


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