Well, I was on the vegan diet for 10 weeks and had my blood tested yesterday.
First, my blood results from 08/08/12:
Total Cholesterol 278
HDL Cholesterol 82
LDL Cholesterol 174
Triglycerides 108
Glucose 97
My diet in 2012 consisted of vegetables, fruit, salmon, grains and dairy. Some of the food was processed. I was using soy milk for coffee, but I ate cheese in moderation. I have not eaten red meat or poultry since 1976. I was getting 1 - 2 hours of exercise a day. My height was 5'3" and weight ~115 pounds.
I started the vegan diet on 2/24/13. The blood results from 04/30/13 are:
Total Cholesterol 238
HDL Cholesterol 77
LDL Cholesterol 142
Triglycerides 96
Glucose 103
My diet has been mostly whole foods consisting of vegetables, fruit, grains, a vegetable protein powder and six oz of red wine per day. I fractured my ankle on January 2nd and couldn't start exercising again until the first part of March. Since then I went back to my 1 - 2 hours of exercise per day. My height is still 5'3" and weight ~115 pounds.
I am really shocked that my LDL dropped so dramatically. Almost everything in my life was the same except for cutting out seafood (mostly wild caught salmon) and adding 6 oz of red wine per day.
I was planning on adding salmon back into my diet because I didn't anticipate a substantial change in my LDL, but now I plan on continuing with the vegan diet and having the blood test again maybe at the six month point.
I am not so concerned about having high LDL, but I am fascinated that I could alter the LDL count by ~18%.
I am a bit bummed that my glucose reading increased to 103. I will be keeping an eye on that.
-helen