Every year I get my blood checked and an annual physical. Due to my healthy lifestyle, I don’t expect to find anything wrong, but:
a) it’s still responsible to get checked
b) it’s inspiring for staying on this path, and
c) what can I say? I like the bragging rights that come with great results!
I have to say, I’m extra excited because my numbers have improved since last year – honestly, I wasn’t sure they could, as they were already very good! I’m setting myself up for a wonderful future with easy aging. The great thing is, anybody* can get similar results just by sticking with a Raw vegan or High Raw vegan lifestyle. Now for the numbers…
My cholesterol is 96! The recommended number is to be under is 200 (if you’re comparing yourself to the SAD eaters that make up the majority of our culture), and if you’re one of those in-the-know, then you recognize that you actually want your cholesterol under 150. I did a big happy dance when I received these results. Coming from a family that has some heart disease, it’s empowering to see that I can make a difference in my health. The rest of my numbers are all superior as well, including my B12 which is 1194! The recommended range is between 243-894. I do supplement with B12 on a fairly regular basis. Needless to say, my doctor was impressed. (She’s not vegan, and this totally negated any concerns she might have had about getting sufficient B12.)
It’s not like I didn’t expect these great results though. Let’s take cholesterol for example. I don’t consume it… ever, which is obvious because I’m a vegan. There isn’t any cholesterol in plants. And, just like there isn’t dietary cholesterol in plants, there isn’t dietary fiber in animal products. As I like to say, cholesterol gunks you up, fiber cleans you out.
According to one of my all-time favorite books (life changing material here, if you haven’t read it, you need to), The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell…
Furthermore, blood cholesterol is not only an indicator of heart disease. According to The China Study…
So… have you been getting your blood checked every year?
* Some people suffer from medical conditions causing extremely high blood cholesterol that can be hard to lower without medication. That said, a Raw vegan diet is a very important part in lowering cholesterol.
For those of you who haven’t entered to win the Lexen Healthy Juicer, you can do so here.