Go Veg! November 12, 2008

I still have a post that’s percolating about food and the food industry, and what’s wrong with the FDA and some things like that … basically me on my vegetarian soapbox. But for now I just want to share one very real benefit of a healthy, vegetarian lifestyle.

I got a call from my doctor’s office today with the results of some blood work. Two years ago, my cholesterol was a respectable 190 … not bad, but closer to the danger zone than I would like. After a year of getting serious about trail running (but before I started ultrarunning), my cholesterol dropped 15 points to a much healthier 175 (and all the other sub-numbers were great as well).

This year, after becoming both an ultrarunner and a vegetarian … my cholesterol is now a fabulous 150!

That’s right … a 40 point drop in two years.  And of course, that’s in addition to eliminating my asthma (yeah I do believe I had some mild asthma even though the VCD was the larger breathing issue) and almost all of my allergies.

Now, I’m not saying y’all need to go right out and throw on your running shoes, do some yoga, start meditating, quit eating meat and dairy, get yourselves a neti pot, and start off every day with some green tea or yerba maté … but clearly, it doesn’t hurt. :-)