I Thought My High Cholesterol Was Genetic—Until I Went Plant-Based

I never considered myself an unhealthy eater before going plant-based. When I was a kid, my family lived in France for many years, and my mother would cook spectacular fresh meals. We rarely had junk food or sweets.

As an adult, I kept that habit up, eating few highly processed foods but a decent amount of meat, dairy, and eggs, and I always dressed my salads in oil-based vinaigrettes. This all seemed normal and healthy to me. I struggled with high cholesterol, but I didn’t connect this with my diet. Both my parents have cholesterol issues, and we have a family history of serious heart disease, including a triple bypass surgery for my dad.

My good friend Rita first told me about Forks Over Knives and the whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) way of eating several years back, and I thought, “Really? No oil at all?” I shrugged it off and moved on. I just wasn’t at a stage in my life where I was ready to receive that information.

About two years ago, I was searching for ways to lose the excess weight I’d been carrying for years, and Rita brought up Forks Over Knives again. She told me how another friend of ours got rid of her chronic inflammation and lost weight on a WFPB diet. This time, I was intrigued. So I watched the Forks Over Knives documentary film that night, and I decided that I was going to try it.

I was pleasantly surprised by what a WFPB diet included. I remember being shocked that I could eat potatoes and pasta, because those had always been off-limits on my other diets.

I had my blood work done the day before I started the transition. My total cholesterol was 298, and my LDL was 174. In the first month of following a WFPB diet, I took 76 points off my total cholesterol and 44 points off my LDL cholesterol. The weight started coming off, and I was all in.

It’s been more than two years, and I haven’t looked back. I feel really good in my body. In total, I’ve taken 100 points off my cholesterol. I’ve lost 25 pounds, and I have so much more energy. I honestly believe I was designed to eat this way.

It’s freeing to be able to think, “I’m hungry,” and go into the kitchen to find yummy, nourishing food. On other diets, I would feel ashamed for being hungry and would berate myself for not having self-control. I’ve always loved food; now I don’t feel guilty for constantly looking up recipes and planning out meals, since I know that it’s all good for me.

Since retiring, I’ve been doing a lot more hiking with my partner, and I’ve found that going plant-based has made exercise much easier on my joints. We’ve done Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and, most recently, the Milford Track in New Zealand. Thanks to this diet, I’m not afraid of doing longer distances. I’ve come off 10-mile hikes and found myself thinking, “Oh wow, that was easy!”

This lifestyle has also given me an amazing community. About four times a year I have a potluck with friends who are also WFPB, including Rita. We all bring dishes to share and copies of the recipes so everyone has something new to add to their repertoire. It’s really inspirational, and it’s a chance to be social with people who are on the same path.

At this point, I don’t feel like eating WFPB is even really a diet. For me, being on a diet always implied that I was doing it until I reached a certain goal, and then I was done. This is not a diet: This is how I live my best life. This is my way to feel healthy and strong. I’m 65, and while I may not be getting any younger, I absolutely feel like I am.

I’ve found the best way to stay on a WFPB path is to keep things simple, and bowl-style meals are a delicious way to do just that. Here are some of the simple bowl ideas that I enjoy riffing on every week.

For breakfast, I cook up Bob’s Red Mill oats and stir in some kale, nutritional yeast, and salsa—so flavorful, and it keeps me energized through the morning.

Another morning favorite is a cereal-type bowl with shredded whole wheat squares, chia seeds, Grape Nuts, spinach, and plant-based milk—sounds weird, but it’s delicious!

My giant salads feature as many different veggies as possible—lettuce, kale, arugula, fennel, cucumber, Belgian endive, hulled hemp seeds, and roasted broccoli, to name just a few—plus chickpeas or baked tofu for heft. For dressing, I use flavored vinegar (I love Kosterina brand) or a mix of rice wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and balsamic glaze.

I keep my pantry stocked with canned beans (black, cannellini, and garbanzo) and my fridge stocked with cooked brown rice and roasted potatoes. At dinnertime, I combine them all in a big bowl, and stir in a bunch of greens.

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.