Why Vegan?

     If you know me well, then you are probably wondering why I decided to adopt a vegan lifestyle. And if you don't know me very well, let me give you a little background info. My name is April Jensen and I am 22 years old. I have a wonderful husband and a beautifully rambunctious 1 year old baby boy. I like to consider myself to be a culinary connoisseur. I LOVE food. I grew up watching the food channel and preparing fun recipes for my loved ones. And for someone who delights in a platter of exotic aged cheeses, or an expertly prepared rack of lamb, or delicious italian gelato, a vegan lifestyle would probably not be their first choice.
     Now let me explain to all of you why I am making this drastic change. I recently participated in wellness testing with my husband's work in order to lower our insurance. We did blood tests, balance/flexibility tests, and strength/endurance testing, along with taking body measurements and calculating BMI. The results I received were pretty shocking. I am going to share my results with you because later on I would like to do more testing to see if I improve. I'm just going to share blood results now because I didn't get a copy of my other results. But they weren't terrific either.
First I will tell you where normal levels should be:
Cholesterol total-              130-200
Triglyceride-                     30-150
Direct HDL cholesterol-   40-60
Non-HDL-                        0-130
Coronary risk-                   0-4
LDL-                                 0-100

Now you get to see how unhealthy I am (please try not to judge me):

Cholesterol total-               253  -HIGH

Triglyceride-                     211  -HIGH

Direct HDL cholesterol-   45    -Normal

Non-HDL-                        208  -HIGH

Coronary risk-                   5.6   -HIGH

LDL-                                 166   -HIGH

      

     You can lift your chin off of the floor now, because I'm sure you were as shocked as I was. I'm just a "spring chicken" (according to the trainer performing my tests), I can't be this unhealthy! After hearing my results I did what any one would do. I called my mommy. Apparently high cholesterol runs in the family. 

     I am going to back track a little bit now. A little while ago I watched an incredible documentary called "Forks Over Knives". In this film they examine the claim that most degenerative diseases that afflict people can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. If you get the chance I highly recommend watching it. Anyways, I showed the documentary to my mom, who decided she was going to eat a strictly vegan diet and see how it affected her. She stopped taking her statin cholesterol medication and changed her diet! I am pleased to let all of you know that her cholesterol has gone down drastically, she is filled with energy and feeling great! 

     Seeing the positive change for my mother has inspired me. I did some research on how to have a complete healthy diet while omitting all animal products and decided to take a leap! Starting today I am changing my life and you all get to be right there with me! I am going to track my progress and share healthy and fun vegan recipes with you. I hope you enjoy this journey with me!