Vegetarian Postscript: The Medical Verdict

So as I noted in a prior series of blogs, I became a vegetarian in late May of this year.

It's a long series of blogs, but if one were to read all of them (a task that few, statistically speaking, have ever endeavored to do) it would quickly become clear that my decision was not at all driven by concerns surrounding personal health.

This is interesting, because when I tell people of my decision, the nearly universal response is to assume that I did so for personal health reasons. (Why else would one become a vegetarian??)

And yet here is the even more curious twist: despite the fact that most people assume my decision was health-driven, a substantial minority of them go on to express doubts that vegetarianism is "better for you." The reasoning is basic and blunt. It basically goes like this: "God made us this way, and we all need that protein."

Both opinions are quite wide of the mark.
A) I did not go vegetarian to improve my health. I was already healthy.
B) Going vegetarian properly does improve your health. Even mine.

Yes, the above chart is my own. In the day and age of keeping your health records a secret, I see nothing I need to hide in the above. It shows how my lipid panels changed between the readings taken two years ago and the readings taken this past Monday.

If you're like me, you don't read these numbers every day, so here's a quick medical rundown of what they mean. Compare my numbers to the below explanations...

As for triglycerides? "The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that a triglyceride level of 100 mg/dL (1.1 mmol/L) or lower is considered "optimal."

My triglycerides did rise, however they are still in "optimal" range.

I didn't start this journey out for health reasons, but my doctor was certainly happy with the latest results. Whereas my cholesterol readings were borderline "OK" before, they are now fantastic.

Plain and simple.