How to Lower Cholesterol Without Meds - My Blood Results As 20+ Yr Vegan
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- Опубликовано: 19 июн 2018
- I finally get my test results back for my cholesterol after following a strict no oil no salt vegan diet. Is it possible to lower your cholesterol with diet alone?
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Interesting. My story is, I was told I had maybe 5 years unless I did a quad bypass. My overall cholesterol was 316 and I was admitted to the cardiac ward which was a shock to me. I did not (yet) go sugar, oil, salt free. I just went plant based. But my cholesterol dropped to under 200. I had up to 90% blockage in my arteries. I did a radioactive MRI and the cardiac doc said I was clear. He took me off all meds. He said he would tell all his patients to go plant based...but he said he knows they won't listen to him. Keep up the good work.
Randy Chase wow. Amazing story!
I also considered this (though a study of N=1) a good controlled study. I managed to remove other variables. I never exercise. I reset my fitbit to 5000 steps as my goal and I normally hit 1500. I never drink water. I drink way too much alcohol (scotch, tequila mainly). I am under way too much stress (thank you IRS! Thank you divorce! etc). And yet... I became healthy. I have had ONE cold in 5 years. My arthritis (I thought it was from years of volleyball) went away. My migraines are gone. I lost excess weight. I am now trying to cut back on oil, salt....and actually start exercising. I have a goal to hike the Appalachian Trail before I am 70 (I am now 60).
Randy Chase I really hope that this story is true, and if so the doctor isn't full of shit and actually tells people that.
Very much a true thing. It is what I have lived. The doctor is vegetarian, and the heart hospital includes another doctor that wrote a book on eating plant based to cure your heart disease. I do understand the doctor's point about people not listening. My uncle recently had a heart attack. He went in for a triple bypass. He knows my story. He has eaten my vegan meals and says they are surprisingly good. Yet the dinner the day before his operation? Steak, please hold the veggies. Where I live, people love their BBQ and Chik-Fil-A and most people find the concept of food as medicine very alien.
Randy Chase I'm glad you saved yourself the right way, and it's unfortunate that your uncle didn't do the same. Hopefully if you have any kids they'll learn from what you had to go through.
“He’s crazy”. As the Doc is holding the dramatic drop in your cholesterol. That’s priceless!!!
Methodtraining ikr!
You just have to learn to cook according to the diet. I stick to it and my food is not bland. It tastes amazing! I have gone OFF cholesterol, blood pressure, muscle and nerve pain meds. I eat nuts and avocado only on occasion. I cook all my own food and rarely eat out or eat processed foods. No restaurant food tastes as good as my home cooking.
Tina Turner yoy should do a cookbook
Home cook the best !
Put a video on RUclips of ur cooking then
Isn't the key keeping overall fat to less than 30 grams per day. With that as the goal, a tablespoon of guacamole with some salsa is not a problem with my beans and rice. Salsa also makes a pretty damn good salad dressing especially when diced peaches and mandarin oranges are on the salad.
@@jeremybarlow2291 nice
Processed foods is a big problem in the US, but remember we create cholesterol to digest lipids, so that is why your cholesterol went down when you stopped eating all fats. I have noticed that even though your video is 4 years old there are more and more processed vegan foods coming out on the market now and a lot of them are not so healthy. Yes it is better to be eating vegan for the animals, for the environment (most of the time) and yes of course for our bodies but not if it is highly processed, fried and junk food all the time. I really appreciate what you are promoting. It is pretty simple biochemistry isn't it, just like you said, you would think these doctors would suggest a simple plant based diet, no fats, no processed foods, low sugar, low salt. It is what I tell my patients all the time, I am a vegan over 26 years with perfect cholesterol levels! Awesome video thanks for spreading the word!!
Congratulations Chris, this is fantastic news!! I'm so happy you solved your health issues without needing to go on medication. I feel so inspired to do better with my own diet. I've never had high cholesterol, but I did have other health problems that cleared up once I became Vegan. Well done you!!
Personally, I think that if you eat plant-based whole foods like 90% of the time, you exercise regularly, you are not overweight and yet you have to go on such a strict diet it doesn't allow healthy foods like avocado and nuts (and nuts BTW, lower LDL), you have to be genetically predisposed to high cholesterol. And you mentioned your sister has the same problem. But I'm glad you managed to do it your way, on your terms, congrats 😊
I agree 100% Marta M. When one looks at those in Mediterranean countries with low heart disease one also sees folks who walk more, drink wine with meals and consume olive oil, avocados, almonds, cashews, pistachios almost daily.
greece is the fattest country in europe.
Actually the United Kingdom and Germany rank #1 #2 for obesity in Europe.
Rank of Countries by Obesity:
United States of America
China
India
Brazil
Mexico
Russian Federation
Egypt
Turkey
Iran
Nigeria
United Kingdom
Germany
France
South Africa
Indonesia
Italy
Argentina
Saudi Arabia
Spain
Pakistan
Lolz, avocados are not healthy, the avocado growers got you. Don't worry, you can learn to become more resistant to their propaganda if you want to.
Damn, I'm thinking about trying this now. I see the health problems my mom and grandparents have and would to avoid them and be a role model in my family. Thanks for following up with us, glad to hear your health is better now.
Fantastic! You have the willpower of solid steel. Recipes? xx
Wow, that is awesome! You figured it out 💪😊 !! So many people could benefit from this information. Based on this, I really think you should write another cookbook.👍😄🌱💚
that girl in okc yyesss
Just go to forks over knives dot com,it's a whole foods plant based diet
+that girl in okc I'm investigating how to lower cholesterol on a ketogenic diet and found a great resource at Pronto Therapy Folio (google it if you're interested)
Thanks for the successful update! I am doing the same thing with Chef AJ’s new book which is also no salt, oil, nuts, sugar etc.. I’m looking forward to hopefully getting off my cholesterol med. your success is encouraging.
Yes, it does help! Thank you very much! You are doing an excellent job, not only with your health but sharing valuable information, with us and your doctor. And congratulations on your results!!! 😊
Bravo! Good work!!! Thanks so much for sharing that. I'm new to commenting on RUclips but this is near and dear to my heart.
I'm a 59 yr old woman who's been on a plant based Esselstyn diet since 10/2016. I met Dr Esselstyn and his family at their farm in Claverack, NY for their 2017 Plant Stock. The man was then 83 and stands as tall and strong as a state trooper. The whole family has been advocating a plant based diet for a very long time. They are all amazing. Their farm, that he was raised on, was a functioning dairy farm. But no longer. They farm plants now. So they were raised on the standard American diet just like us. He's done a lot of hard research that undeniably confirms a plant based diet will change your life for the better and his work with patients at the Cleveland clinic continues to this day to prove it. I am walking evidence myself.
I learned about him in 2013 when I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives. My husband and I are baby boomers who had been struggling with major health concerns for decades. It seemed like a big change for me at the time I started his diet, but I persisted. Told myself, if I don't notice improvements in 1 year, I can always go back to the way I use to eat. I was sick and tired of being in pain. A plant based diet is not something most people can switch to overnight but it is, without a doubt, worth every effort to transition into. If I can do it, anyone can. My husband and I were hard core meat and dairy eaters all our lives. Typical standard American diet since our births in the 1950's. Tried many diets before this one. Took me 3 years to transition from meat/dairy to vegetarian, to plant based. I've been eating a plant based diet now for almost 2 years.
Today, I feel like I've turned back the clock 25 years. No more border-line obesity, chronic sleep problems, no more physical therapy for recurring chronic tendinitis, joint inflammation, osteoarthritis pain. No more digestive disorders, heart palpitations, chest pain, fatigue. My blood work was indicating chronic kidney disease. After only 6 months on Esselstyn's diet, all the cardiovascular symptoms, digestive problems, fatigue and pain simply faded away. My blood work is now flawless. My cravings for processed foods, added sugar, salt and oily foods is a happy thing of the past. Unbelievably, my palate has evolved to looking forward to solely plant based meals and I feel way more satisfied on that than what I use to eat. I've discover unending recipes I never knew existed. Homemade vegan sausage and vegan Mac N Cheez. I went from limping with a cane to running a 15K road race. I'm consuming food that is more in line with my moral values and I now know it has the added benefit of helping to heal our planet for the continued use of future generations after me.
If you are one of many Americans who are sick and tired of being sick and tired, have faith. You have nothing to lose, everything to gain going plant based. Chris/The Vegan Zombie is living proof, too.
Amazing transformation! So happy for your success and thank-you for sharing your journey with us 💚
Yay! This is so encouraging. You’re determination is one of the most impressive aspects😊
Wow. So cool to see the results spelled out like that!! Awesome job sticking with it. You’ve inspired me to take my health into my own hands ✌️😊
Hey, Chris! Congrats on achieving your goal! My girlfriend and I have been WFPB vegans for nearly a year now. We don't cook with oil and consume very little of it in our foods. We don't eat salty foods, but it was never a huge concern to cut out salt. She got blood work done recently and her results were truly amazing: Total Cholesterol 133, Triglyceride 60, HDL 51, and LDL 70! We eat this way thanks to Mic the Vegan and we'll keep eating this way for the rest of our lives.
That's terrific.
Congratulations! Please do some What I Eat in a Day videos!
Jesé Hitman cool!
I lowered my cholesterol with Dr. greger's recipes. I haven't gone through Esselstyns stuff though. After seeing these results, Dr Esselstyns book just jumped to the top of my list. Thank you for sharing these results. It is also really helpful to see that I am not alone in these cholesterol struggles. Excellent video!
How you lawer ur cholesterol, you try vegan diet?cut meat and chicken
@Bladerunner2043 You have no chill. You're an adult it is no longer acceptable to throw a fit when someone tells you to eat your vegetables. 🥦🍅🥑🍠
Congratulations Chris
Congratulations on your results. Thanks for your investigation to improve your blood work and for sharing with us.
This is very valuable information, thank you so much for doing this...for yourself AND for all of us!
I am so glad to hear that your cholesterol numbers have improved. You are so inspiring. Thank you for sharing all the information.
Congratulations 🙌🏻
I just bought his cook book!!! I can’t wait to get started on it. Yay good to know his methods work!!!
CONGRATULATIONS❣I have been following you for a loooong while, I am so happy that the diet worked and that you didn't have to take medication to treat your high cholesterol and triglycerides💚👍💚
Congratulations Chris!
Thanks for taking us on your journey to better cholesterol. Can’t wait to see some recipe videos for this particular diet! I am definitely going to try this!
Well done, man! I haven't had bloodwork done in several years and only just went vegan on 3/4/18 and quit smoking in Dec 17. I'm interested in going to get my bloodwork done now and see where I stand.
So glad to hear your results.
Thank you for this Chris! I’ve been following your channel for a while (since your air-fryer tofu video), but only recently subscribed. I’m a cancer survivor who’s been vegan for about 4 years, hclf wfpb for two, making healthful gains ever since. Keep up the great work 🌱💪
Wow so much respect for your commitment to the testing frequency.
That's awesome and I'm so impressed you stuck with it the whole month. I've tried several times and gave up, but now I'm going to do it after hearing your results. Inspirational!
Forgot to ask if you're going to stick with the no oil/salt/sugar eating plan. I know you seemed a little irritated with it (as I was, too - but I caved!) because of the tasteless food. With those incredible results I imagine it might give you the willpower to continue though. Congratulations again.
Excellent Chris you did it awesome! Such an eye opener huge congratulations👍
GOOD JOB!! I’m proud of you and your dedication to health! Bravo
Congratulations! That was awesome 👏🏽
Yay! Congrats, Chris! Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
Dude! This just made my day! Thank you for sharing and being so diligent in documenting this.
Congratulations man
wow....what a great result....thanks for sharing this with us....it's amazing that doctors aren't willing to use diet for things but will give meds out like candy.....i did smoothies and plants, lost 150 pounds, brought my A1C down to 5 from 8....and my doctor's first words were 'but you still need your meds'...smh
Congrats on the results. You worked really hard for it.
Your eyes look more clear and open.
Your story has definitely inspired me to eat only whole foods. I look forward to the journey and the rewards at the end. My family also has a history of high cholesterol.
Great job. I loved following your journey. I will share with anyone who could benefit. Thanks for sharing.
I was so happy to see you results improve so much! I will show this to my carnivore friend and hope this inspires him to try this out, too.
That is fantastic!! Thank you for sharing this - definitely encouraged my husband and I as we are trying to be stricter for the same reasons.
Wow I have to say that I am extremely impressed. Your dedication to stick with it, I’m really motivated to be honest. I’m having a similar issue. Never took the meds. Just thought it was my lot in life. This has given me hope. Thank you. 🙏🏻☺️
chris this is great news congrat's on your hard work, keep up the good work.
Fantastic results! Now re reading my Esselstyn books!
Fewwwwww, you were getting us worried! So glad to hear the great news. Yay!!! Great job!
I’m trying to do this myself and it’s not easy, but you’ve given me hope that I can get off the meds. Thank you for sharing!!
I just got off my meds! I feel so much better! I have to keep a close eye on my blood pressure, but so far so good. Did you ever get off of your meds?
Thank you for going about this in a methodical way and doing your research. You give vegans a good name. Congrats on your results!
You are SO on!!!! Thank you SO much for this video!! I went vegan 3 years ago but still could not get my cholesterol down past 200 overall. I went from 280 to 203 which I tested a month ago over the last 3 years going vegan/plant based. I did not take out oil though and I know that Dr. Esselstyn has been someone I looked up to but did not follow 100%. You have motivated me to cut out ALL oils since I think this has a LOT to do with balancing cholesterol. I have recently lost 15 lbs. in the last month and started running 5 miles daily again. I am going to wait another 4 weeks with my new weight and omit oil to see what results will be for me. I too will NEVER go on statins and yes I am with you 100%, it's the diet even though we might be prone to hereditary challenges with cholesterol. It can be corrected with diet. My doctor said "Oh you just have your parent's unfortunate genes, that is totally boloney!!! You proved it!! Thank you again for this encouraging video!!!
Tracy Henry he DOES have his parents unfortunate genes. He found a way to stay healthy in spite of them. He inspired me to give up oil. I had almost exactly the same numbers as a vegan. Gave up oil and my numbers were fixed. I had tried the statins and they were giving me something like early onset Alzheimer’s. I thought there was no hope for me till I saw this video. Amazingly, my 3 week experiment fixed a darkened toenail that had been that way 10 years too! I cook most of my food and my numbers still look good.
Those are some pretty incredible results! Thanks for sharing. 🌱
YEAH! *I did a fist pump when you read those results!* Congratulations man you made moves, and stuck with it. I think it's important to realize some of the changes in your prior blood test runs are probably not statistically significant, but this round of tests definitely was. You changed the game by going Zombie Hardmode.
Last time I sent you a link to that McDougall webinar talking about salt and sugar. *Without salt, the food will definitely seem Bland.* I think you won't have any trouble incorporating salt to taste (at the table) as long as you don't go overboard. Beyond that, sugar is in a lot of products... Products that add tremendous enjoyment to food. Like ketchup. Again, I think that with time and experience you will be able to enjoy things like ketchup and jam, maple syrup, that contain refined sugar, without negatively impacting your cholesterol levels.
Similar story for stuff like a small amount of ground flaxseed. Down the road you might experiment with something like a teaspoon 3 days a week on a salad. But life's not written like a story book and what might work for other people might not work for you. It seems like taking out nuts and seeds and avocados did have a big difference.
Keep your goals in mind, and realize that you have accomplished something that most people don't have the knowledge or the insight to even try.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO.
Check me out sometime.
👍🌱
#RedPillVegan
Red Pill Vegan well said
So happy to hear this Chris. I was concerned about you ever considering going on meds. That stuff is horrible and turned my husband into an old man over night. He was on prednisone and other meds for a couple years before he was well again. Now he is doing fine and we are enjoying our vegan eating. You have very strong will power. That's where I fail. Keep up the good work.
Rena
Good job sir. Follows my last few months after 18 months of keto pushed my LDL up from 90 to 170. It is just what the body does when you eat primarily fat. I just did not want the long-term risk after the first 50 years of my life were in a body with LDL in the 80-90 range.
Went low-fat plant-based pescatarian (I have unlimited access to fish in my back yard) and three months later my LDL went from 176 to 60. Not just lipids. My fasting blood glucose is now in the low 80s. I got a CGM to track and after about 1 month of strict low-fat plant-based eating, spikes in glucose went from 150-190 in some cases to almost no spikes now. I just ate a large bowl of oatmeal and my blood glucose went from 90 to 100 and back down within 1.5 hours. My A1C never got below 5.5 on keto. My CGM is estimating it is in the 4% range now. Blood test showed it dropped, but only covered part of the period of my new diet. And HOMA-IR score showed ideal insulin sensitivity in late June, two months after starting. Not the only diet I'm sure for everyone, but it improved every single health metric in just a few months. Just just sitting with LDL of 60 feels quite good looking forward into my 50's, 60s and beyond. Almost no risk of heart disease.
Congratulations! I'm inspired!
This was a very informative video and I am so thankful for it! You are doing great work!!!!
Congrats, Chris! Thanks for sharing your story; it definitely motivates me to be more conscious of what I eat.
Good for you, man! I'm happy to see you succeed in getting that under control :)
First off, thank you so much for doing this! And congratulations for hitting your goals! It takes a lot of self discipline to do what you did. You also inspired so many people to adopt a Vegan WFPB diet in the process. I belive once most people go vegan they think they are safe from any kind of illness but it is a harsh truth that even though it is healthier, vegan junk food can easily lead you to health problems too. Thank you again for opening my eyes to this. You inspired me personally to get tested and take my health seriously by following a WFPB diet. Hope you will consider doing a What I eat in a day video, another video in the future of your blood work and a recipe book :)
thank you for sharing. this is so timely, very timely advice as i know this saved my life
I am so happy that this worked for you!!
Dr. Esselstyn is on point. My eczema went away by only eating plant based whole foods, no oil. It makes me feel really good, so i am sticking to it, but I wish others understood. Health is a cool way to feel, thank you for demonstrating.
Good for you, Chris! 👍👍👍
I have to say, I'm proud of you! You stuck with it and it is a VERY strict diet. I can say that I'm pretty young and cholesterol has really affected me so I've had to have 2 1/2 bypasses. Not my heart but it does collect in your arteries and cause a LOT of problems. I hate that you have to give up the foods you love in order to get to those levels but whole foods really are best. Some of us, like you said are predisposed to having problems. I suffered a long time and I wish I had known ahead of time that cholesterol was the problem because I would have switched to a vegan diet long ago. I have to take meds now, not really an option for me but I'm glad you caught it early and you're doing something about it.
Awesome to hear this. My cholesterol was 311, went plant based , one year later 230... I haven’t had it checked again but planning on checking now again 🙏🏻
Thank you for doing this, I've been waiting to hear your results. I've had the same problem with my LDL and you've convinced me that I need to go all Whole Foods plant based and especially stay away from processed food to get my LDL down.
Congrats on the good health news and on being willing. That's the hardest part. I just lost 2 family members who just couldn't make the change. I love them, and understand that it's completely going against what we've heard all our lives. I believe in independent thinking, so I say, rest in peace, and send them on with my best wishes.
Just awesome that your Dr. was open to other possibilities. Mine is so close minded. I am a Utica resident (40 mins away from Syracuse) and have a hard time loosing my last 20-25 lb to be at healthy optimal weight. This definitely has inspired me. Keep up the good work bro!
Yay! Congratulations!
I really applaud your tenacity. As someone pointed out in another comment so many would rather take the meds than wrestle through finding their path. So sad that our culture focuses on what is easiest. So kudos to you!
Wow, that is an amazing result in just one month - very inspiring!
YAAAAAY!!! for you! So glad you are doing this!!! KEEP GOING bro! I'm 60 ... I donate blood regularly and it's like a "mini-check up"...I can get my TC results a few days after donating...it's always 130-140! I LOVE this way of eating...I feel like I'm 20! Go CHRIS GO! Yes, doesn't this make you want to SHOUT FROM the ROOFTOPS: EAT Plant based, people!!!!! so much suffering can be reduced!
Do you donate at the Red Cross?
@@jrbarraford No, it's at our local hospital...it's called Community Blood Center here in Naples, FL. I don't know if ALL blood banks give this information to donors but I'm glad they do.
Fantastic results.
About time you came around to whole foods man. Keep up the great work.
I’ve been waiting for your results!! Awesome! 👏🏼 I’m going to try this diet, my blood work is good but I’m a little over weight! Thank you and cheers to you!!!
Awesome news Chris! Personally I had a feeling it would work. After reading how not to die, & following engine 2 I decided to cut out the junk food & went wfpb. But when I travel like I am this summer I am not so restrictive! Been vegan for 10 years now & has my cholesterol checked last month and my total was like 135, bad was 65.
Great video. Very interesting to see the changes!!!
Congratulations on your test results. I had a similar issue. I went vegan for my cholesterol at the beginning of April 2016. At the time my LDL was 129, but after the first year of being vegan it went up to 137. Heart attacks and high cholesterol run in my family so I thought I was just going to have to live with it, furthering my resolve to not eat one more molecule of cholesterol in my diet. Then I tested near my two year veganversary and I was pleasantly surprised- my LDL went from 137 down to 104. Here's what I did differently in year two- I stopped cooking with oil and I stopped putting vegan cheese in everything. So I cut out a lot of saturated fat, but not all fats. I bake a lot of my foods- burgers, fries, etc. I also cut out sugar as much as I can, except for my morning coffee that is. I believe that you do need some good fats in your diet to help absorb necessary fat soluble vitamins. Perhaps, if your doctor says OK and you feel comfortable with it, rotate one food at a time back into your diet. For instance, keep eating exactly the same but maybe add plain avocado back into your diet a couple times a week and see if that affects your cholesterol. You could put half an avocado on a sandwich and store the rest in the fridge with some lemon juice so it doesn't turn. Then have the rest a few days later. You need to enjoy the way you eat, otherwise you won't stick with it. I respect people's reasons for going vegan, but I truly believe that if vegans don't pay attention to their heath, they won't be able to stay vegan in the long run. Take care, and good health to you. ;)
You make soooo much sense to me! Thank you. Subscribed! 👌
So glad you stuck with it ! I dropped my cholesterol 70 points by cutting out the nuts and avocado. I had already been wfpb for a year and as much as possible sofas free (salt, oil, flour, alcohol and sugar)... And my food is not bland at all, thanks to RUclips , chef AJ , and cookbooks like 'how not to die' and Esselstyn's 'how to reverse heart disease' cookbook. Awesome that you got your doctor to look at Esselstyn's work! Keep spreading the news - you're doing great work too!!
I'm so happy for you and you inspired me to start this diet as well. I have been collecting recipes and am experimenting in the kitchen now. Dr. E is a genius! so great :-)
I was JUST about to ask you about this haha. Interesting stuff!! Sweet shirt, too!
Thank you for posting this. I have a similar situation and ran across this video in looking for some solutions. I realize this video is over a year old, but still valuable.
Thanks for doing this. It really clears the air.
Excellent that you stuck it out and got the results, eventually. For many folks, eating whole foods plant based vegan, with very little oil, will be sufficient to have good cholesterol levels. But for folks like yourself, and your sister, who have a genetic predisposition to hypercholesterolemia, you've clearly shown that a very strict diet gets results without medication. Hopefully your Dr. will get educated!
I hardly ever write comments, but this deserves one! Thank you so much for making this honest and very informative video. I am coming back to it, as it has started a new branch of positive health in my life, and very well could have saved me from future heart issues which run in my family.
______________
The long version: I was a long-time lacto/ovo vegetarian, still with cheese and eggs as a staple of my diet, along with many processed "vegan-friendly" groceries, and eating out. Healthy but in my late 30s, I've been seeing a doctor more regularly, and my cholesterol was getting worrisome in the red. I decided to cut cheese and reduce eggs, and so I filled the hole with nuts, "healthy looking" granola bars, coconut everything, and continued cooking vegetables and "veggie meat" in oil and wrapping it in a flour tortilla. Seemed healthy to me, but cholesterol went even higher - what the heck!
Your video (and its ensuing life-changing rabbit hole) helped me to understand my blind spot: oil, fat, and its omni-presence in the American diet, and moreover, my common version of a "lazy" vegan diet. I wrongly assumed that since I didn't eat meat, I didn't have to worry about fat and oil. I discovered and employed Esselstyn's ideas, learned to cook with an air fryer, how to adapt my staple foods to be low-fat, and further expand my repertoire as a vegan home cook. Oil is in EVERYthing! Reading and understanding nutrition and ingredient labels is essential! ( 5% or more oil = Be careful!)
It's been about a 7-month journey thus far, but I can tell you and others on a similar path, I lost 5 lbs each month for 5 months (and another 7 slowly over several months), which was all extra weight for my body, reaching a happy and healthy plateau of what I weighed 20 years ago. I wasn't even trying to lose weight! As someone not at immediate risk of heart disease, I more evolved my current diet towards the Esselstyn model, rather than follow it 100%. I felt disciplined (and frequently inventive!) in this new approach, but not deprived.
Cholesterol results after 7 months:
Total: 226 -> 175
HDL: 51 -> 50
Triglycerides: 151* -> 92 -> 96
LDL: 155 -> 106
Chol/HDL ratio: 4.4 -> 3.5
Non HDL Chol: 175 -> 125
*including the previous high from another 7 months back, to show previous improvement from cutting out cheese and eggs and some fast food.
Thank you again! Progress, not perfection! I strongly encourage anyone who is still researching their next health steps to make this commitment to your health! It works!
That’s awesome, I really hope you opened a new door for that doctor.
Great video!
Wow!! Great job! You've inspired me! I'm a junk food vegan trying to make the necessary changes, and this video sealed the deal. I'm pulling out Dr. Esselstyn's book and getting started. Thanks for posting this video. I will be following you from here on out.
Keep going. You’re on the right track. I have been eating this way for 11 years, and will never go back! My most recent total cholesterol was 112! It will keep going down, if you stay with it, and you will eventually love this way of eating,
Congrats. You're doing so good
Chris, I am so happy for you!!! I understand how the results can make you feel boxed in, but I think a once or twice a year treat should be fine.
Way To Go I wish I was as diciplined as you. Thank you for sharing
Yes! I was hoping for those results for you. I am going to try this. I have been Vegan for a little over two years now and I want my Cholesterol to be lower so this is what I'm going to do. Thank you so much!!!
Awesome news! 👍
WOW, WOW, WOW. That's incredible. I bought all their books and cookbooks. So, I'm hoping my cholesterol improves like yours. It totally looks doable.
Congratulations on how all the willpower and effort you put into this experiment worked out! One thing I wanted to mention was that the low fiber diet (I'm pretty sure) is often a thing patients of certain surgeries have to do just temporarily while healing and not a long-term diet.
Meredith Hopkins Oh I totally get a low fiber diet but there are healthy plants based foods with little to no fiber that can be consumed opposed to meats and dairy.
Oh, of course! I thought that you were just horrified by the idea of a low fiber diet (which does sound pretty horrible) 😂
. exactly, Chris.
How would consuming the one "group" of "food" which is the primary cause of our plague- level, rampant global obesity, heart disease, cancers of every organ and bodily system, type 2 diabetes *ever* cure or improve *anything* ?!???!. What supposedly intelligent, trained, experienced physician would ever tell a patient to eat those things, unless s/he had taken leave of their senses.
Thank you for this!!! 20 year vegan here with slightly high cholesterol. So difficult to find anything that addresses "vegan with high cholesterol". Purchasing this book today.
This is so cool! Way to go with spreading the wfpb word to your doctor and many others!
Thanks for letting us follow along on your journey. Following your own instincts when it comes to your health is usually spot on, especially when you have done the research to try to get to the optimal result. Congrats Chris! Us vegan, go figure! haha. Unfortunately, it's a trend with doctors regarding the lack of vegan dietary suggestions. From what I understand doctors do not get a lot of training in nutrition. Which seems more than a little bit strange. I am not sure about the up and coming doctors, however, I am hoping to make a difference in the advice that I can give to my patients when I get my ND degree and start practicing.
Congrats man! Hope this helps many people
I thank you, Chris, for going through the trials so that you could find the answer and share it with us. I would also love a cookbook or a video showing your new typical daily menu. I was considering getting the Engine 2 Cookbook...is that what you used to start off?