Disappointed in cholesterol test results

[Forest Nymph]

I'm guessing it's the eggs. I think oil-free is extreme and unnecessary unless you have legitimate health problems. People have different opinions on it, but I'm not into it and I don't have high cholesterol from eating oil.

If you don't like oatmeal or sweet breakfasts, you can try tofu scrambles, avocado toast, or making potato pancakes or other savory recipes.

 

[TofuRobot]

I think oil-free is extreme and unnecessary

It's not extreme (or unnecessary) if you're following a WFPB diet because of the simple fact that it's not a 'whole food.'

 

[Forest Nymph]

It's not extreme (or unnecessary) if you're following a WFPB diet because of the simple fact that it's not a 'whole food.'

I think it's extreme and unnecessary. I think it's an excellent diet for people who have heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer or other chronic illness. The OP isn't on a WFPB diet, which isn't necessary to be vegan or to have lower cholesterol. I'm stating my opinion. My blood tests are great, I've never been deficient in anything, and my cholesterol is fine.

 

[TofuRobot]

I think it's extreme and unnecessary. I think it's an excellent diet for people who have heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer or other chronic illness. The OP isn't on a WFPB diet, which isn't necessary to be vegan or to have lower cholesterol. I'm stating my opinion. My blood tests are great, I've never been deficient in anything, and my cholesterol is fine.

Ok - well, even if were unnecessary to avoid oil, that wouldn't necessarily make it necessary, either. I'm pretty sure that Drs. Greger & Barnard don't say avoid oil "only if you have heart disease or high cholesterol," so I am basically siding with them. Plus, I find it really disgusting (the taste) now that I've pretty much eliminated it for as long as I have. If it's not hurting you, great. But it doesn't really have any nutritional benefit (perhaps not important to everyone, but it is important to me). Besides being low on B12 (nothing to do with oil), my labs are perfect as well. So - more for you, I guess

 

[Blissful]

Hi TofuRobot , and everyone , the thing is this - if we all excluded all food that wasn't in it's original , natural state , what would be left ? Non-hybrid vegetables and fruit , and nuts and seeds .. That's about it . No soy or oat or almond milk , nothing that needs soaking and cooking for hours , no bread / crackers / tempeh / tofu / pretend -animal flesh / most things that come packaged , vegan chocolate , etc.. etc ... you get the idea ..
Tahini - if you had huge amounts of sesame plants and spent hours collecting and grinding them , then l guess you could call that a natural food ... but l doubt you would have that many plants available naturally .. ( by the way , l love tahini and can eat it by itself by the spoonful )
And we would be eating most of our natural food raw , too .. with perhaps a few exceptions ..

So , my lifestyle is to eat as few processed foods as l can , with some exceptions . I will check out the olive oil video , however l do feel that my diet is one of the best l know of .

Whenever l am buying processed food , l check out the ingredients list , of course .. If l see sugar , or a very long paragraph of ingredients , l put the item back .. We buy the bulk of our food from an organic wholefoods place , then a much smaller amount from the supermarket ..

There is soooo much processed food out there - l think it's pretty good to just ignore a lot of it , but , you know , we are beings of choice .. May everyone always have the freedom to choose .

Blessings to all . xo

 

[TofuRobot]

if we all excluded all food that wasn't in it's original , natural state , what would be left ?

Are you kidding? Most of the food I eat is recognizable -- and I eat a pretty wide variety of food - FAR more than I ever did as a pescatarian - and I haven't even begun to touch the 27K or so varieties of edible plants.

 

[Blissful]

Huh ? I never accused you of not eating natural food - l'm just talking in general .. l know how many plants are edible - in my 59 years on Earth , l've grown quite a lot of them , sourcing seeds from the Heritage Seed Network here .
I include myself in my post , you know .. There is still too much packaging in my cupboards .. If l were more committed , there wouldn't be any packaging ..

Have a lovely day x

 

[Forest Nymph]

Ok - well, even if were unnecessary to avoid oil, that wouldn't necessarily make it necessary, either. I'm pretty sure that Drs. Greger & Barnard don't say avoid oil "only if you have heart disease or high cholesterol," so I am basically siding with them. Plus, I find it really disgusting (the taste) now that I've pretty much eliminated it for as long as I have. If it's not hurting you, great. But it doesn't really have any nutritional benefit (perhaps not important to everyone, but it is important to me). Besides being low on B12 (nothing to do with oil), my labs are perfect as well. So - more for you, I guess

I'm letting the OP know it's not necessary. This kind of thing turns people away from being vegan.

Even Mic the Vegan, famous for promoting WFPB, has recently admitted that since he has no health problems he eats oil and processed foods in restaurants and on vacation, and he and his partner buy Kite Hill cream cheese at home. They just don't directly purchase oil for cooking at home.

Most vegans aren't oil free because they don't want to feel like they're on a restrictive diet. You can eat less oil or low oil without being oil free. Or eat as much oil as you want. People in the Mediterranean do. Their glowing health is due to the amount of fruit and vegetables they eat, and the relatively small portions of animal products.

I don't try to sell veganism as a cure all health regime. The longest living people in the world eat a mostly plant based diet but also eat fish.

My guess is because the OP has been vegetarian for only 3 or 4 months and still eats eggs, that's why her cholesterol is where it is. If she cut out eggs and waits another six months even while still using oil, I'll bet her cholesterol will be fine.

If it's not then, then may be she should try a more restrictive diet.

 

[Emma JC]

This is an interesting publication on oils/fat as it is discussing the inflammation that is caused in the body by a diet that includes a higher fat/oil intake. I agree with you @Forest Nymph that a limited amount of oil is not going to harm an otherwise healthy person however not many people limit their oils to a couple of teaspoons. We have been brainwashed, over time, that oil is healthy for us and so many pour it on their salads and use tablespoons at a time for cooking or sauting when it isn't necessary or healthy.

As you mention you are healthy and probably younger than many of us and likely more active also and so your body can handle it. My current lifestyle involves way too much time sitting and typing and reading and so for me to injest a lot of oils, or even whole fats, into my body it would be very detrimental to say nothing of the weight I would gain. I also have years of consuming eggs and cheese and meats and oils so my body needs a very long rest, from high fats, so that my arteries and veins can recover some of the original health from my youth.

Limiting oils and fats allows me to eat a satiating amount of whole foods and to have the occasional teaspoon or two with my garlic (alio olio) and to have some of the higher fat foods when I wish.

Emma JC

 

[Blissful]

I watched the you tube olive oil video - he makes good points , and he is not extreme in his opinion .. I use minimal amounts of olive oil when l roast my vegies , so l think l will continue on with this .

I do feel that if one is otherwise healthy , a small amount of olive oil is ok ..

By the way , TofuRobot - l think you must have misunderstood my post that you reacted to .. I never said ( or meant) that the non-hybrid vegies and fruit , etc ., that are left after removing all processed foods , are not enough ... All l said was - that is what you have left after removing the processed stuff .. and so , most of us eat some processed foods ..

I find it a bit funny that simple sentences can be so misunderstood - and sometimes , people project some intention into your words , that isn't actually there ..

Oh well , have fun everyone . x

 

[Jamie in Chile]

The cholesterol numbers you have aren't too bad, actually, not perfect, but not too bad.

Maybe you need to cut out the eggs.

The other possibility is that, the body is producing the cholesterol it needs, and it knows what it's doing, and doesn't need to reduce it. I've seen this pattern where vegans get tested and see no difference. I saw no real difference myself either.

Hard to give specific advice on whether to get your number closer to the absolutely desired numbers. It might be a waste of time but probably worth doing just incase, unless a professional says otherwise. Good luck.

 

[Lou]

Well, oil doesn't grow on trees... Anyway - I stand with Dr. Greger et al who say NO oil.
I've gotten so far away from using oil that I'm super sensitive to it now. The other day I picked up a box of "Beet Crackers" from Trader Joe's. Forgetting (like a Dummy) to look at the ingredients. These are CHIPS, shaped and packaged like crackers. The second ingredient is oil! I ate a few before I noticed that (and just about the time I was about ready to gag). I gave them to my son (who I can't seem to get off of oil, sadly).

...I must be one of the few people on the planet (vegans, especially) who don't eat oatmeal. I don't know why, really. It's really too much work, and it's never hot by the time I'm ready to eat it (after adding all the necessary 'components'). By itself, it just tastes like cardboard. *shrug

Hey. that is a good point. So I wonder why they call olive oil unreifined

Refining also means that you are removing a single (or select few) material from the food matrix. Concentrated lipids in a bottle is refined simply due to the fact that it is not incorporated in the food that it came from. Too much to go in to here, but our uptake of lipids is much slower when it is still integrated in to the cell membranes and other structures of the cells vs when it is refined (removed from the food). There also seems to be some effects from other compounds in food that help affect uptake, but that is more to do with carbohydrates (blood sugar spikes less with fruit juice than with fructose water, for instance, even with the fiber removed.).

Regardless, I need to get back to a whole foods diet, been "treating" myself to too much seitan and refined junk lately. I just ate a giant seitan steak tonight for dinner, made from a whole cup of vwg. Thank the FSM that I am not gluten intolerant...

That is a very good point. I thought the whole thing about Extra Virgin was that it was processed but not refined. but obviously, it's both. ....looking it up.... oh. it is the juice of the olive but not cooked or treated with chemicals like other oils. Just a mechanical process.

 

[Meyersaurus]

I love how you have your own chickens! It would be a waste to throw their eggs away, so (even though I'm vegan) I would probably eat those, too.
Now, your body will take a long time to change as many reserves of your body can sustain for several months (if not years). That's why people have been discarding my argument that B12 is a myth and I don't have a deficiency and therefore don't need supplements (I have been vegan for over 3 years).

Also oils don't necessarily contribute to your cholesterol, this myth was created by the sugar industry a few decades ago so that people would continue the consumption of sugars. Sugar will be turned into fat after digestion, which is the fat you want to steer clear of.

Vegetable oils are actually very helpful and good for your body (can also even reduce acne and such).

Anyway, don't lose hope, it's probably gonna take a while for your body to fully transition, you'll be fine

 

[TofuRobot]

I love how you have your own chickens! It would be a waste to throw their eggs away, so (even though I'm vegan) I would probably eat those, too.
Now, your body will take a long time to change as many reserves of your body can sustain for several months (if not years). That's why people have been discarding my argument that B12 is a myth and I don't have a deficiency and therefore don't need supplements (I have been vegan for over 3 years).

Also oils don't necessarily contribute to your cholesterol, this myth was created by the sugar industry a few decades ago so that people would continue the consumption of sugars. Sugar will be turned into fat after digestion, which is the fat you want to steer clear of.

Vegetable oils are actually very helpful and good for your body (can also even reduce acne and such).

Anyway, don't lose hope, it's probably gonna take a while for your body to fully transition, you'll be fine

Sorry - no oils are healthy to consume. It may or may not create a problem for an individual, but it's not at all "healthy" to consume oil (aside from the naturally occurring oils found in whole plant foods).

 

[Emma JC]

Also oils don't necessarily contribute to your cholesterol, this myth was created by the sugar industry a few decades ago so that people would continue the consumption of sugars. Sugar will be turned into fat after digestion, which is the fat you want to steer clear of.

Vegetable oils are actually very helpful and good for your body (can also even reduce acne and such).

Agree @TofuRobot - many vegetable oils cause inflammation and, also, it is rare that sugar would change to fat, it is oils and fats that are deposited in your blood vessels and muscle cells that cause obesity and Type II Diabetes (please research Dr Neil Barnard, Dr Esselstyn and many many others).

Please see other recent threads on these topics.

I am not advocating high sugar consumption however sugar is often combined with oils in junk foods and so the sugar gets the 'obesity blame' when it is the oil that is likely the larger issue. Think donuts and cookies and cakes.

Emma JC

 

[Forest Nymph]

That's why people have been discarding my argument that B12 is a myth and I don't have a deficiency and therefore don't need supplements (I have been vegan for over 3 years).

This is super dangerous. You could develop mental illness, blindness, or paralysis, or stroke and/or dementia as you age.

Your body stores B12 for around 3 years. Some people may have stores a little longer, but it's often people who have been vegan around three to five years who start questioning their veganism and if they need to eat animal products ....one of the main culprits is not supplementing B12. Other common problems are vitamin D and people who aren't eating enough flax/hemp/walnuts or taking a DHA supplement. That is, if you're not one of the crazed orthorexic types living off of less calories than is needed to sustain adult life (it's pretty obvious, their hair starts falling out and they try to cure it with more starvation methods like wheat grass and green smoothies).

You are spreading dangerous misinformation, you need to stop.

 

[Forest Nymph]

Sorry - no oils are healthy to consume. It may or may not create a problem for an individual, but it's not at all "healthy" to consume oil (aside from the naturally occurring oils found in whole plant foods).

The American Heart Association firmly disagrees with you. So does the Cleveland Clinic.

 

[poivron]

You can’t expect to reduce your cholesterol numbers if you’re eating eggs. You have to cut out all animal products. “Eating healthy “ means nothing, since what people consider “healthy “ in the U.S. is a chunk of skinless chicken on a bed of lettuce. If it’s tasteless, Americans think it must be healthy, and vice versa. In fact, If you’re eating any animal products at all, you’re not eating healthy.

My cholesterol went down by over 40 points after my first year of veganism. But my husband’s cholesterol has taken much longer to come down. I think it may have something to do with one’s metabolism. If your HDL is low, which suggests a slow metabolism, it may take many years for your LDL to come down to below 150 mg/dL. This doesn’t mean you’re at risk of heart attack, though. Based on everything I’ve seen, I think that the risk of heart attack goes to virtually nil when you go vegan.

You’re getting the health benefits, even though the numbers may not yet show it (as long as you’re not eating eggs or even small amounts of other animal products). My husband’s cholesterol is still over 150 mg/dL, but the symptoms of his rare kidney disease are gone. Just hang in there.

 

[Sax]

The American Heart Association firmly disagrees with you. So does the Cleveland Clinic.

There's no health benefit to adding refined oil to a properly balanced WFPB diet.

Refined oil is something you add to real food, and only improves nutrition if your choices of real foods are nutritionally deficient.

 

[TofuRobot]

The American Heart Association?

The American Heart Association firmly disagrees with you. So does the Cleveland Clinic.

The American Heart Association is not who I look to for nutritional advise. A good explanation of why can be found in the film What The Health.