By Amy Demyan, Ph.D.

So, I’m 35 years old.  How did that happen? It seems like just yesterday I was running through a sprinkler without a care in the world.  Now I’m a grown up, and odds are, if you’re reading this, so are you.  So what’s a grown-up to do? More importantly, what’s a grown-up who wants to continue to lead a healthy and active life to do?  Well, according to Pittsburgh PA physician Kevin Fritz, age 35 is the time to consider getting regular health check-ups, which include a blood panel to investigate your health status, including your nutritional needs.

So this year, just before my 35th birthday I visited my Los Angeles County based doctor, Paul Liu, who upon learning of my long time vegetarianism thought it was the right time to investigate my current health condition with a blood panel.  He explained that it’s best to get an understanding of your vitals when your overall health is stable.  These results can serve as a comparison for the times you’re not feeling your best, and help determine the potential culprits.  Of course there are averages to aim for and cutoffs for concern if you have no comparison. But nothing is more helpful when interpreting the numbers than knowing where your stats normally hang. 

Despite my fear of needles, I quickly agreed to follow through with the lab tests. I wanted to know if my lifestyle was paying off. And, after a visit to the lab and a couple of weeks for processing, I headed back to Dr. Liu’s office to go over the results.

One of the first things reviewed with my doctor was my glucose level. And although many things are considered when determining one’s risk of developing insulin resistance, glucose levels can be a very good indicator and cutoffs exist to classify high levels.  Importantly, (fasting) glucose results greater than 113 mg/dl are reason for concern and rates above 126 indicate full-blown diabetes.  Mine was 85mg/dl, falling well within the 70-105 normal range. 

Next up, dreaded cholesterol numbers.  I hadn’t been eating my Cheerios, but I did feel pretty confident my vegetarian diet would result in lower levels of lipids in my body. When evaluating cholesterol levels, the number we’re most accustomed to hearing is 200.  That’s widely considered the cutoff for coronary risk due to excess lipids.  Cholesterol is used to maintain select bodily functions, but it’s easy to get more than we need.  In fact, our bodies often produce enough of its own cholesterol to serve its needs.  The cholesterol we eat is usually additional. 

The problem with cholesterol is that it isn’t absorbed through the blood stream rather it’s carried off by lipoproteins.  The two best-known lipoproteins are HDL and LDL.  HDL is known as the “good” lipoprotein and LDL is known as the “bad”.   While LDL carries away the cholesterol in our bloodstream, too much of it can result in plaque formation and clogged arteries.  On the other hand, HDL is believed to offer a protective factor and is thought to carry away artery clogging lipids to the liver, where they can be passed from the body with little implication.

When interpreting lipid lab results, Dr. Kevin Fritz reminds us that your physician should additionally consider many things when determining your coronary risk --like your family medical history, as well as your weight and blood pressure, and if you’re a smoker or not. Since I’m active, eat a vegetarian diet, don’t have a family history that’s marked by coronary complications, and have never made a habit of cigarette smoking, my cholesterol was 154.   Furthermore, my LDL was 68, which is at the low end of the 60-159 range. Lastly, my good cholesterol (HDL) was 59 –also good considering the 35-65 range (the higher the better for HDL).  Furthermore, my physician Dr. Paul Liu notes that the ways in which these numbers relate to one another should be considered when evaluating results.  And of course having a comparison  (having past cholesterol numbers) can help you better gauge any lifestyle changes you might need to make.

If your good cholesterol is low and your bad cholesterol is high, consider reducing your intake of animal proteins and instead seek out healthy non-animal sources like beans.  Also consider vegan “dairy” products or low-fat dairy products like cheese made from 2% milk, which have less cholesterol in them.  You’ll also want to bust-a-move; walk, jog, or play badminton.  Whatever recreational activity it is you enjoy (or can tolerate), like Nike says, just do it.  Exercise can increase your good cholesterol and help to balance out your bad. Plus you’ll feel super duper when you break a sweat, have a better completion, a leaner figure, and serve as a great role model to others who want to, but have yet to hit the gym.

In addition to cholesterol, vitamins and minerals can also be measured through simple lab tests.  These results can be used to determine whether or not you’re getting the nutrients your body needs.  Nutritional needs are usually determined by many factors, like body size, gender, and age.  And, although RDA’s (recommended daily allowances) are there to guide us, it’s important to remember that everyone’s nutritional needs are different.

Luckily, all my results fell in the “not-to-be-concerned” range.  This included my protein levels, potassium, sodium, and B12 to name a few. And, my iron panel and hemoglobin levels indicated that I am not anemic. That’s good news and means that I’m getting enough leafy greens, beans, and watermelon.  If your iron is low, eating these foods with vitamin C will also help by making it easier for iron to be absorbed into the body.

Calcium – of course it’s good for your bones, but if you haven’t enough in your blood stream your body will take it from your bones. And, if you’re over 35 this is a very bad thing since your bones stop absorbing calcium around this age. Yikes! According to the research, individuals with diets that consist of soy-based proteins tended to loss less bone calcium compared to their animal protein-eating counterparts. Consider getting your calcium from broccoli, bok choy, or collard greens to ensure strong bones as you age.

Next up - sodium, sodium is essential to our body, but too much of it results in high blood pressure.  High blood pressure is bad because it puts too much pressure on your arterial plumbing, which could result in some serious damage over time. Try switching to fresh or frozen veggies instead of canned, or, at least rinse your canned veggies.  Consider buying dry beans rather than canned. Experiment with herbs and spices to boost taste without excess sodium. Also, consider the fact that excess sodium negatively affects bone health.

Remember, we use averages to guide us but we’re individuals and individual trends are much more helpful when determining the implications of the numbers on your health prognosis. So, make sure you and your health care practitioner are considering the context.  The good news is that my active, vegetarian lifestyle seems to be paying off.  Like getting an A on the paper you slaved over, I felt validated. I guess Amy really does know best--at least when it comes to my own nutritional needs!

For more info check out

www.americanheart.org

www.diabetes.com

The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook by the Editors of the Vegetarian Times. – 2nd Edition