A bit more on cholesterol...

As I sat picking bits of chicken out of my biryani last night I was so embarrassed. Given another viable option for reducing cholesterol, particularly the 'bad' LDL stuff I would most certainly chose otherwise... In the meantime, I need to accustom myself to the thought that my body seems to be very good at producing sufficient cholesterol. And so I need to not injest any extra cholesterol.

For me one of the most annoying things is that I fall in a weird category for cholesterol and high blood pressure problems. I am in the normal weight range for my height ( although at the heavy end), I don't eat very much processed food (mostly because it's not available), I don't smoke (so I can't quit, one of the most mentioned advices), and I am premenopausal (apparently after menopause is when the real problems for women start). All that to say it's difficult to find relevant information.

The reason I opted to not go on medication permanently is that statins, the usual cholesterol reducing medication, have not been tested in long term studies. The incidence of side effects seem to be low, but there have not been any studies on the long term effects. So considering I am 33 and if I live to a modest 73, that would put me on the medication for 40 years...I am hoping to delay my need for daily medication to avoid being a guinea pig!

However, I want to seriously entertain any suggestions. Since it's relatively easy to get my cholesterol checked every couple of months here; it's easier to experiment with changes and see what happens.

So my current agenda is: a vegan diet, lots of water, raw garlic daily, calcium supplements and flax seed oil.

There are two challenges with drinking enough water. The first is that all the water needs to be boiled, filtered or bought. And the second is that washroom facilities, for when you are out of the house, are either not available or ... I am just thinking of how to describe them...but let me include a picture.
This is a reasonable toilet on a train, near the beginning of a journey. The interesting thing I learned this summer, was that having washrooms in restaurants is a western convention. So as we travel in less westernized areas, we face the challenge of locating easy to use toilets, particularly for the girls and me. Good balance and carrying your own toilet paper(another western convention) are the needed resources!!