Having hypothyroidism means I get my blood taken regularly to check my thyroid hormone levels, and at the same time, my cholesterol. Having hypothyroidism does put you at risk for high cholesterol, and mine has been elevated ever since I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. In February I went in for my latest test and my doctor was thinking that after having trained the past year for the half marathon and achieved and maintained a ten pound weight loss, that my cholesterol numbers would be much better. Disappointingly, to both her and myself, they weren't. Although a bit better than my last test, they remained above what is recommended*:
- total cholesterol 215
- LDL 122
- HDL 72
Right around the time of that visit, I made the switch to a vegan diet (I blogged about that here: http://fitandfabulousatforty.blogspot.com/2008/03/transition-from-flexitarian-to.html). I had to see my doctor again this week to re-check my thyroid levels and I asked her if she could do the cholesterol again, too, as I was curious what effect two months of eating a vegan diet would have on it.
We were both pleasantly surprised! My latest levels are:
- total cholesterol 182
- LDL 100
- HDL 66
I have to say, I am really puffed up about those results! I stand behind all the reasons I went vegan in the first place, I know that I feel good on the vegan diet, and my skin problems are really clearing up, but those numbers, black and white, make me feel even more empowered about the good choices I am making for my well-being. Yay!
*recommended cholesterol numbers:
- total: under 190
- LDL: under 115
- HDL: above 40
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3 comments:
Bravo!! Your new numbers look great! I'm really proud of you for the switch to a vegan diet, and the proof is in the pudding, as they say (although this pudding would be made with soy milk!).
Hi Amy,
Just catching up after a hectic few weeks. Sounds as though you have been busy and still keeping active!
Glad to hear you are doing so well with you diet, vegan eating and having a holiday to boot...kudos to you!
Best wishes for your next run...hope the weather is holding out for you and bringing you sunshine and warmth.
Amy - This is really great news. The LDL is much more important than the total cholesterol - I'm sure you probably talked about this. Under 115 is aggressive actually unless you have risk (but better to be safer than now) -- 100 is a great place to be. Also that HDL is so high because of all the wonderful exercise you do. This is important as HDL escorts the bad cholesterol out of the body, the more you have, the more it helps to keep you lower. Way to go!!
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