Cholesterol (and vegetarianism)

[Shiner]

Well hello!

Feel free to comment and give your own experiences, but here is a long rambling post about the topic.

I tend to cook exclusively vegetarian, but in the last year have eaten meat at work for lunch. Lunch is provided free and the vegetarian options are terrible.

As part of my usual health checks I get my blood work done yearly. Prior to eating lunch at work (and only eating vegetarian) my bloodwork was perfect, however in the last year it seems eating lunch here (which doesn't seem that unhealthy) has caused my bad cholesterol levels to skyrocket.

I am not surprised to be honest, my family has history of cholesterol problems and I was waiting for it to catch up. While meat might not be the main issue, its probably the preperation, my doctor has suggested (and I'm fine with it) that I follow a vegetarian diet as I have enjoyed in the past.

And to put an issue to rest, no my doctor isn't saying that all people should be vegetarian, he is saying that because I've had good history with bloodwork being vegetarian I should try it to see the results again, and to bring my own homecooked food into work as lunch.

So what I am asking you lovely peeps, how is your cholesterol, and what diet are you? vegetarian, omnivore or vegan?

I've always been comfortable being a vegetarian but its just a matter of how I have accustomed to living. I've never been that big on meat and despite my family pushing me to eat more red meat I've never enjoyed it all that much aside from the occasional steak.

As not many people really want to read about food, I've prepared a cat with a cucumber beforehand. Bon appetite!

[starbelly]

Well, I've been a vegetarian for ten years now, and was a vegan for three of those, and I've never had cholesterol problems. That said, my mother has AWFUL cholesterol, but it's because she has a disorder in which her body produces too much of it, so she has to take medication to control it. If that's the case with you, not eating meat will only help to a certain degree. Also, meat's not the only thing that has cholesterol in it— anything that comes from an animal (including milk and the like) has cholesterol in it. Living animals, unlike plants, produce cholesterol, so if you eat anything that is derived from them, you'll ingest cholesterol.

[LONDONER]

I suppose that I'm a fallen vegan in that I do eat fish, but my cholesterol level has always been perfect.

[pellaz]

congratulations on your effort to control your diet
How much is a free lunch mean to you?

[Pix]

Omnivore, and I love my meat. Cholesterol, blood pressure, and everything else remains excellent. It's possible that my active lifestyle contributes to this (that is, I don't sit in front of the TV or get around by car everywhere, and perhaps IF I did then the meat would adversely affect me...), and it may be genetics (other than some fertility problems our family health is overall excellent, even our smokers and heavy drinkers do fairly well considering).

[Pix]

I just recalled reading something that blood types have a lot to do with how effective a diet is, and that while vegetarian is healthy for some, it's unhealthy for others. That's why some vegetarians feel better while others just feel sore & tired all the time (even when they take vitamins, careful with their diet, etc), as well as like how arctic peoples have adapted to a diet of almost completely meat (and those without the proper blood type didn't survive and those that do survive can find changing their diet when they leave the arctic to be very unhealthy for them).

[Bowyn Aerrow]

I'm an omnivore who eats predominately vegetable matter (fruit, nuts, vegetables, grains). I typically eat about one serving of meat a day - which is my serving, that is about 1/3rd the size of a typical American serving.

Tonight (as example) I had about half a chicken thigh mixed with brown rice, then a huge helping of stir fried veggies (zucchini, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper and onion for taste.) I used less than a tablespoon of EVOO. Along side of that a fruit 'salad' - that had watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, blue berries, red grapes and white grapes in it.

Dessert was sugar free raspberry gelatin with canned Mandarin oranges and pineapple topped with a minor dollop of real whipped cream (starting with cream, whipping it with the beater until light and fluffy, splenda used instead of sugar).

This is pretty typical of my meals, lots of fruit and veg with a decent sized serving of grain/starch and a little meat.

Oh I should add I also eat predominately Kosher - no pork, I don't mix dairy products (milk and cheese) with meats, no shell fish. I will eat jello (Yes I know its a pork product) - but I do steer clear of bacon, ham and other pork meats.

I have about a half dozen eggs a week as well - more or less - depending on what egg has been added to. Understand eggs have both good and bad cholesterol and actually balance out the bad.

I don't recall my exact last test numbers, If I recall correctly:
LDL was about 80-85
HDL I think 50 or 60
Triglycerides about 120 Or maybe that too was close to 80.

Its been 3 years, I get tested every 5-6 years.

Cholesterol issues in my family are, I believe, non existent. Blood relations that is.

If you are genetically predisposed then that may be the culprit. I do not know what you allow on your vegetarian diet, eggs, cheese, milk? Those may be the worst for you compared to lean chicken breast or lean pork.

If you are not preparing meats yourself, it is highly possible that you are eating a lot of bad fat with those meats. Hamburger is the absolute worse, they purposefully add fat to hamburger. Ground Chuck is leaner (and more expensive). Restaurants will prepare decent cuts of meat on a greasy grill, thus it absorbs grease. Fats used for making things like french fries (chips) tend to be cheap thus loaded with bad cholesterol.

Chicken from stores is loaded with injected fats, hormones and God only knows what else. I'm sure whatever they do to it is ain't good for one.

Bacon - bad. Turkey bacon not as bad. Lean Turkey bacon better... I think you get the picture.

[Shiner]

I'm an omnivore who eats predominately vegetable matter (fruit, nuts, vegetables, grains). I typically eat about one serving of meat a day - which is my serving, that is about 1/3rd the size of a typical American serving.

Tonight (as example) I had about half a chicken thigh mixed with brown rice, then a huge helping of stir fried veggies (zucchini, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper and onion for taste.) I used less than a tablespoon of EVOO. Along side of that a fruit 'salad' - that had watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, blue berries, red grapes and white grapes in it.

Dessert was sugar free raspberry gelatin with canned Mandarin oranges and pineapple topped with a minor dollop of real whipped cream (starting with cream, whipping it with the beater until light and fluffy, splenda used instead of sugar).

This is pretty typical of my meals, lots of fruit and veg with a decent sized serving of grain/starch and a little meat.

Oh I should add I also eat predominately Kosher - no pork, I don't mix dairy products (milk and cheese) with meats, no shell fish. I will eat jello (Yes I know its a pork product) - but I do steer clear of bacon, ham and other pork meats.

I have about a half dozen eggs a week as well - more or less - depending on what egg has been added to. Understand eggs have both good and bad cholesterol and actually balance out the bad.

I don't recall my exact last test numbers, If I recall correctly:
LDL was about 80-85
HDL I think 50 or 60
Triglycerides about 120 Or maybe that too was close to 80.

Its been 3 years, I get tested every 5-6 years.

Cholesterol issues in my family are, I believe, non existent. Blood relations that is.

If you are genetically predisposed then that may be the culprit. I do not know what you allow on your vegetarian diet, eggs, cheese, milk? Those may be the worst for you compared to lean chicken breast or lean pork.

If you are not preparing meats yourself, it is highly possible that you are eating a lot of bad fat with those meats. Hamburger is the absolute worse, they purposefully add fat to hamburger. Ground Chuck is leaner (and more expensive). Restaurants will prepare decent cuts of meat on a greasy grill, thus it absorbs grease. Fats used for making things like french fries (chips) tend to be cheap thus loaded with bad cholesterol.

Chicken from stores is loaded with injected fats, hormones and God only knows what else. I'm sure whatever they do to it is ain't good for one.

Bacon - bad. Turkey bacon not as bad. Lean Turkey bacon better... I think you get the picture.

Family members on my dad's side are fairly pre-disposed to cholesterol problems.

Regarding eggs, milk etc. I've never had a drama with them, and always maintained healthy fat ratios. However I would say it has something to do with the cheap crap they probably use to fry up the meals with. Or the cheap meats themselves as you mention.

When I bought meat for myself in the past it was from the one butcher I knew and trusted. He was a equitable butcher in that he bought his meat from sources that were more for animal welfare and other reasons (i.e no dense caged animals, being fed mass hormones etc) kinda like organic meats but not with the silly label.

My god his stuff was good though.

I'll be getting a fresh blood test in a few months though, it will be a good way to see how I progress. Annually isn't enough unless you have a good baseline.

[megumidesu]

been vegan my whole life . never had issues with cholesterol ...

[pellaz]

a vegan diet takes more time effort
-there are lots of delicious alternatives to eat out there but walk into the average food market and 95% of the stuff on the shelves you cant eat