[Buttons840]

I got a high LDL reading of about 200 (this is like top 3% percentile, if I remember correctly). I panicked and switched to an extremely low fat vegan diet, and I couldn't handle waiting so I paid to have my LDL tested again. My LDL had dropped to 130 after one week on that diet.

For me, at least, saturated fat is the most important nutrient I can monitor and avoid. Low saturated fat, high fiber is the diet for me.

I wasn't able to keep the vegan diet, but it was worth trying for a time because I learned some new recipes and new habits.

[EasyMark]

This past year I switched to a whole foods diet. I eat eggs, whole milk & cheese, veggies, fruit, white meat, saturated & unsaturated natural oils (nothing manufactured like margarine or anything hydrogenated), root veggies (potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips), beans/lentils (I'm not afraid of soy based things) grain based breads including whole wheat, whole wheat pasta. I tend to avoid red meat (pork and beef). I quit fast food and anything I suspected of a manufactured element. I was bordering on high cholesterol and pre diabetes. Since then I've dropped 35 lbs and everything is back in the normal range. I don't think you have to go vegan, just get away from all the over salted, over manufactured, sugar "enhanced" garbage. We're omnivores, I think we have the machinery to process normal foods. I admit this worked for me and may not work for everyone. The only "vice" I allow myself is a couple of diet cokes a day, but most days it's just coffee. I only will have a drink or two socially on the weekend and tend to stick to wine or clear spirits and lime/lemon.