Well, it's official...

[pixiecrinkle]

I got the bad cholesterol gene in the family. I've been a vegetarian for 10 years, and my cholesterol was tested this morning. It's 220!!! Everyone else who's divulged their numbers were well below 200. Yikes. Guess I need to mention this to the doc next time I go in and get the "real" test (this was just a blood droplet test).

It's weird -- I think I already "knew" this somehow, especially when my mom's cholesterol was so much higher than my dad's earlier this year.

Off to find an uber-healthy lunch now!

Comments

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Stress can elevate cholesterol levels.

Back when I exercised regularly and ate a very low-fat, low-cholesterol vegetarian diet, my cholesterol was higher than yours.

Sometimes it's just genetic. For me, I've got a body that produces lots of bad cholesterol when I'm under stress.

It turned out that attempting to work, go to school, and date more than one person while I was *sick* was too much stress. In fact, trying to work while being sick was too much stress. For me, not working has lowered my cholesterol level dramatically. I realize this is not a reasonable option for most people, but given my illnesses, it was the only option--the drop in cholesterol was just an unexpected bonus. ;)

[pixiecrinkle.livejournal.com]

I'm mostly convinced that mine is genetic, due to an extensive family history of high cholesterol and heart disease, on both mom & dad's sides. But the stress connection is interesting too -- about a year ago, I was in the best shape I've ever been, eating right, going to yoga class 4-5 times a week. I was probably about as calm as ever then too. I really wish I'd had the test then to compare. I guess I'll just have to wait until after the first of the year, when I'm taking a break from school and can get back into a healthier, less frantic lifestyle -- then I'll go back and get the fasting test and see if it's made an impact.