Vegans?? Esselstyn Diet???

Hi, Any vegans out there? How do you cope? I had DS about 1 1/2 years ago and my cholesterol is still very high. Supposedly the Esselstyn Diet lowers your cholesterol to 150. Unfortunately I had a heart attack about 5 years ago and have had two stents. I have protein powders and bars and can eat those.

I'm confused as to how a DS person could follow a vegan diet. Doesn't it go against the intestinal configuration? When the intestine is shortened so much you essentially have the insides of a carnivore not an herbivore. I was reading a bunch of DS threads and it sounded like the ones who eat meat and cream are the ones with the lowest cholesterol because they follow an atkins-like diet.

My partner is vegan and he has bad cholesterol.  I'm omnivorous and even at my heaviest I didn't have issues with cholesterol. It's a genetics issue with him, his father also has bad cholesterol.  Some people are just fighting against genetics on this issue.

I can't imagine a Vegan DSer.  I mean, that's no eggs, no cheese, no protein powders made from whey.  How on earth would you do it?  I'd blame your cholesterol on genetics if DS can't overcome it.  Get meds and stop beating yourself up.

One of the reasons I got an RNY is because im semi-vegetarian . I simply PREFER vegetables , rice and beans and tofu cheese over real meat and dairy and eggs most of the time .

Still I don't understand why RNY would be that different from a DS in terms of protein absorption. I do GREAT with my semi vegetarian diet ( though I do drink a whey protein shake in my coffee every morning )

I have no problems with hair loss , brittle nails or calcium levels ..

have you seen the CLEAN eating / whole foods forum ? there are interesting ideas andrecipes there ...

Still  I don't understand why  RNY would be that different from a DS in terms of  protein absorption.

The amount of small intestine bypassed. The 'average' small intestine is between 600 to 700 centimeters long. The 'average' RNY bypasses between 100 to 150 cms, leaving between 450 to 600 cms of FULLY FUNCTIONAL small intestine. (This is why the body overcomes the malabsorption of calories in about 18-24 months following the RNY.)

On the other hand, the 'average' DS leaves a 'common channel' of fully-functional small intestine of between 75 to 150 cms. This is why DSers only absorb about 50% of protein, 60% of complex ccarbs, and 20% of fats---FOREVER.

I've been a vegetarian for 20 years (was only vegan 2 and a half though, don't know how you do it) and, even at over 400 pounds, I have never had a problem with my cholesterol.
Does high cholesterol run in your family?  What does your doctor think is the issue?

It's genetics with me too! I'm totally happy eating meat, I just want to try this to see if it actually lowers my cholesterol. Even when I was 20 years old and painfully thin (105 lbs), I had cholesterol around 300. While I want to give this diet a serious try, I'm still going to drink my protein shakes (with soy milk), use the protein powders and eat my protein bars.

Oh yes, genetics is the problem. It's an issue in my family on my moms side (hers is nearly 500) and mine was always high, even as a child, and even on nearly fat free diets. We just make our own. The DS worked miracles with my cholesterol, and I'm sorry it isn't doing as much for you. 

DO get medication, you can only do so much when you are fighting your genes. Also, don't refrain from eating good fats. I honestly feel that is part of what is finally normalizing my system. Eating no fat was messing me up even more, but now I eat lots of avocado, olive oil, nuts, peanut butter and coconut oil (don't let that one scare you, non-hydrogenated, it's a good medium chain fat) and that combined with my DS, has me in a good place. My cholesterol will never be as low as most DSers, but my ratio of good cholesterol to bad has improved greatly, and that's what really matters.

Hi Bearmom, Love the dog and thanks for the response. I'm on meds, just don't like it and my doctors wants me to go back on another one of my meds. I still love the DS and it's reduced my meds by half - I just have trouble taking them. I've only used olive oil for about the past 10 years, so hopefully that's helping. I'm going to try eating healthier and hopefully that helps.