WOOHOOOO

[mzteris]

After being "complete vegetarians" for the past year and a couple of months my son's cholesterol is down to 195!!

We were pollo-pesce veggies for the year before that - which helped *some* - got it to 249 - but I think the going total soy must have really done the trick.

My son has that familial genetic thing that causes high cholesterol - we'd always eaten "pretty healthily" anyway - but discovering his TC was 269 when he was five years old (very very thin and very very active!) was a shock.

We did low fat, we did cholostyramine (got it down to 227ish .....) but the side effects were too bad so we stopped - and it went back up.)

FWIW - we didn't become vegetarians because of the cholesterol thing, though. My son decided he was a Buddhist when he was nine and didn't want to eat animals. (OK - I told him it was ok to eat poultry and fish - but he finally said, Mom, I just can't do it. Chickens have feelings, too.) And that was that. (Hubby keeps trying to convince him if they don't have cute eyes, it's okay but the kid's not buying.)

Anyways - just thought I'd share the good news. Soy really does help lower cholesterol!!

[smbolisnch]

1. That's wonderful news!!

Wow, a 5 year old with high cholesterol. You would think that would be impossible! Way to go mzteris!! :woohoo:

[mzteris]

2. it's a genetic disorder

**a 5 year old with high cholesterol.**

That's what everyone thought - & he was/is certainly the antithesis of what you usually visualize when you hear "high cholesterol"....

IMHO all kids should be tested - even though neither his dad nor I have "high" cholesterol ourselves.

[shockra]

3. Scary.

I just saw a heart association commercial this afternoon that said heart disease is the number two killer of children. That certainly came as a shock to me.

You have a great son, wise beyond his years. Sounds like his parents were pretty smart too, to let him have his way. ;)

My cholesterol's been in the 5 and 600's for over five years, so I'm looking forward to my next blood test (in two months) and seeing the look on my doctor's face when it's dropped like a rock. Everyone in my family has high cholesterol, but I think mine is the worst.

[mzteris]

5. yowza

5-600's????? Wow.

Did you recently go veggie? The Soy should really help. Also, added exercise.......

Good luck on the blood test. Let us know how it goes.

Teri

PS - Yeah, I do have a great son. :) We were told when he was quite young that he was an "old soul" - we didn't know what they heck they were talking about at the time, but as he got older it became pretty apparent.

[shockra]

12. I recently went vegan.

I've been vegetarian before, but it's been awhile. I used to be very health conscious, then in recent years I said to hell with it. Part of it was the sense of hopelessness/helplessness I've had after the Bush selection. Usually I could find hope in the darkest of times, but with the Bushies in power I feel a dark cloud over my future and the world's too, and a sense of dread for the repercussions of their idiocy that are going to be playing out for a long time to come.

I'm sorry to say that I wouldn't be vegan just for health reasons. The ethical reasons are number one for me. But I've learned so much about the health benefits now that I understand it's what I have to do. Otherwise I'm a heart attack waiting to happen. I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and have had diabetes for about 3 years. So far my blood pressure's down and I've lost 10 pounds. So, so far, so good.

Normally I would sacrifice my health and work myself into the ground for something I believe in. It's great to know that this time, the something I believe in will improve my health instead.

[mzteris]

13. good for you

on not giving up. We all go forwards and backwards in life. Sometimes we just don't have the strength to do what we know we need to do - but then we rally.

I wouldn't be vegetarian "just" for health reasons either - but for my kids - you betcha...... and I'm sorry to say that while I intellectually understand that vegetarianism is good for the environment - and that "mistreatment" of animals is a really bad thing - it's not as visceral for me as it is for my one son.

My daughter (24) is actually mad at me because when she was a teen and didn't want to "eat meat" - I didn't support her at all and kind of made fun of her. ALthough, to be fair, she was doing it because it was the "thing to do" - not because in every fiber of her being she felt that eating meat was wrong the way that my son does.... NOW she gives me a hard time that the boys aren't getting enough "protein" and that they "need meat" to be healthy. :(

I do worry a bit about the whole soy/boy thing that I've been reading about. And my youngest son is "all muscle" and destined to be an athlete so I worry about him getting enough protein/creatine as well......

My older son *wants* to go vegan, but we tried and tried to go soy milk/cheese and we just couldn't - and we need something like dairy for them as they are growing boys. We do buy "free range" eggs, at least. And I'm thinking about getting milk direct though I don't think I'm supposed to talk about that. :)

**I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and have had diabetes for about 3 years. So far my blood pressure's down and I've lost 10 pounds. So, so far, so good. **

Great! You should see even more results soon. Have you added any exercise into your life? Just a bit of walking or swimming maybe to start.. that's really important, too.... Stick with it.

Better times are coming....... I really believe old Fitz is going to get at least some of the bush cabal - which will discredit the rest!

[flvegan]

15. Don't worry about the soy/boy thing.

I'm male, 33, and packin' pretty big guns in my sleeves.

That's very easy to say, as genetics plays such a HUGE role. Also, form, focus and freakin' intensity. Just wanted to let you know that meat isn't an issue.

Besides, putting on muscle as a veg is a massive driving force. Every time I think about NOT going to the gym, I think about who I'd be letting down. Myself? Sure. But I'd also be letting THEM down. I'd be letting down those for whom I put up this billboard of veg health. That thought puts me in the gym every day. Maybe it'd also help your son, if he's also so driven.

[mzteris]

18. Maybe it'd also help your son, if he's also so driven.

The 11 yo is destined to be "not muscular".... he's thin and wiry - but he does have *some* muscle considering the amount of sports he's into....... but he's okay with the fact that he'll never be Mr. Universe. I can just hear him now, "If I have to CHOOSE - I'd rather have the brains, mom"... lol...

NOT that one can't have both... but we talk a lot about those gifts that we have and the quirks and the challenges - and he decided long ago that if it meant being quirky and a bit challenged on occasion - he like "being smart" more.

Now my 6 yo!! He's a whole 'nother story. Ever heard of Earl Campbell thighs? That's this kid. He had definition in his calves when he was TWO! He looks like a body builder already. He's very very fast and very strong. Hubby is salivating at the thought of having a Football player..... but while I won't forbid him to play, I'm certainly going to keep him engaged in other sports for as long as possible! He loves soccer and tball, kung fu and gymnastics. My secret plan is - I'm thinking LACROSS! to get him scholarships to all those high priced schools. Whatdya think?

Seriously, though, it's not just the muscle thing - (though my Repub hunter retired military brother keeps harping on CREATINE, PROTEIN, RED MEAT!! aaaaggghhhh) - I've been reading recently about male development and "female soy" ..... I wish I could get a totally unbiased source about this issue. If you have any links, I'd appreciate it - I definitely need something to keep hubby (the non-vegetarian in the family) happy with our choice.

[shockra]

16. I used to be a compulsive exerciser.

Ice skating, aerobics. Put over 12,000 miles on an exercise bike -- had thighs and buns of steel! Haha. Then I moved in with my grandparents/great uncle and broke the habit, which I never have gotten back. I couldn't get out of the house for very long, or on a regular basis to do anything besides grocery shop. It was hard, because they all had mental problems and were panicky about being left alone at the end of their lives.

On the other hand, I did get to eat vegetarian. None of them could chew meat, so I didn't have to cook any of that for them, or for myself either. My great uncle had NO teeth, and had to be fed through a tube.

I got used to sitting on the couch watching tv/movies with them, or reading a book, which made me stir crazy, but at the time there didn't seem to be any way around it. They all lived to be in their 80's (my grandfather, 89) so I guess I've got some good genes on my side.

I'm practically exercise-phobic at this point. I just can't think of a single thing that sounds fun. And that's horrible because I especially need the endorphin boost it gave me. :(

[mzteris]

19. You sound like

a very good person.

And if you're going to live that long, you may as well be healthy enough to enjoy it, eh?

Try ice skating again, or aerobics. Try something new. Yoga? Pilates. POLKA?????? ROFL Maybe get a dog and go for walks.. There are lots of activities out there. Just do it! Try something new this week.

(listen to me - *I* should get off my duff and do something, too - but I'm always "too busy" taxi-ing the boys and waiting around for them to do their thing! lol)

[flvegan]

14. You crazy vegans.

You need meat to be healthy. Sorry. Someone had to say it. It just seemed to be hanging out there without it.

[shockra]

17. .

:P

[flvegan]

4. This is GREAT news!

Whereas cholesterol is only found in animal products, going veg is the oft unspoken of option. However, it isn't always a cure. I'm glad that your exceptionally aware son has been helped by it.

"Chickens have feelings too." Such a youngster could teach a great many of us a few things, it would seem.

[mzteris]

6. He's taught us

tons already. :)

[bertha katzenengel]

7. Great news -- congratulations!

And chickens do SO have cute eyes. I like the way they scratch, then have to turn their heads to see what they've got. ;)

[mzteris]

8. our friend

raises chickens in her back yard..... her daughter has tea parties with them. I'd never seen "pretty chickens" before - but these are!

BTW - I LOVE your No Spareribs sign......

[bertha katzenengel]

9. I got the idea from smbol...

went to PETA's cafe press store, copied the image of the bumper sticker.

(I've only been veg* for two weeks. Two weeks today. You can gague my dedication from my meal at a minor league baseball game Saturday night: while my beloved and everyone around me was enjoying hot dogs, I had a black bean burger. The best thing I can say about it is that it was meatless. As I've said earlier, dogs at a ball game are probably the only thing I'm going to crave.)

[mzteris]

10. keep reminding yourself

what's IN those things!!!!!

My son refused to eat hotdogs even BEFORE we were vegetarians! Even as a *little* boy.......

My 6 yo son loves the Morningstar CORN DOGS - no one else likes them around here though.

It's not "easy" becoming a vegetarian. You still get cravings and stuff from time to time. Try the different brands/styles of the veggie products - some are better than others - and there is just appeal to different taste buds. I like the Morningstar Grillers and my son likes the Gardenburger veggieburgers. Try the Gardernburger riblets, btw.. pretty good stuff. (I think it's the bbq sauce.)

It's gotten so we have to avoid the "meat department" altogether - the smell alone makes us feel slightly ill - and the sight of all that "dead meat" makes my son feel sick...

[RebelOne]

11. When I first became a vegetarian 8 years ago,

it was so hard to stay from the meat department. I would still have a craving for a juicy steak. But I still buy hamburger for my dog. I mix it with her dry food. I may be a vegetarian, but I'm not going to force her to become one.