How in the world can they have high cholesterol

[annette1975]

Last year my boyfriends cholesterol was normal.
Since then he has become vegan for maybe the last 8 months.
He quit smoking 2 years ago.
He works out every other day.
He lost 30lbs...and is of normal weight.
He eats no junk food...mostly raw fruits and veggies
His typical day of food includes and apple and banana for breakfast
for lunch a hard boiled egg...an orange and a tomato
for dinner he eats a salad that consist of
Broccoli...tomato..celery..a pepper...red onion...half an avocado..a cucumber...an apple...
pineapple...lettuce...and a cup of lentils.
No dressing at all...only some hot pepper flakes.
later as a snack he usually has 2 cups of cereal...cherrios mixed with bran cereal
he eats it dry with no milk.
he pretty much eats this monday through friday
on the weekends he usually makes beets or khalorabi
mixed with lentils and a veggie mix of fresh dill...celantro..one carrot...celery..
turnip..parsnip..and an onion.
he only drinks 2 cups of caffinated coffee a day the rest decaf...or drinks water
no juice...sodas or anything else...
so someone PLEASE...explain to me how his cholesterol can be high.
(don't say the egg or genetics lol...that seems impossible considering how
much health food and healthy life style he lives)

[Flycaster305]

Cholesterol is generally considered in three classes.  The 'bad' cholesterol is called ldl, the good cholesterol is hdl, and triglicerides make up the third leg of the tripod.  How these three classes fit together are the important thing, not necessarily the number.  For example, my total cholesterol after my last test was about 160, but the relationship of ldl/hdl was excellent, meaning that the good cholesterol was controlling my bad cholesterol.  

You didn't report any numbers so it is difficult to comment. That said, his diet sounds fantastic!  You don't want to know about genetics, but they are absolutely part of the conversation, and worthy of consideration.  

If you have a lab report, let us know what the numbers are, and perhaps we can help you understand.  

[Red_Star]

Your boyfriend's diet is sky high in carbohydrates. All carbohydrate - vegetable, fruit, bread, pasta, rice, biscuits, confectionary, sugar is absorbed as glucose into the body.  

Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates will generate a rapid rise in blood glucose. To adjust for this rapid rise, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin. You really don't want to mess with insulin cause it likes to mess with you. :)

From WebMD's article: Insulin Resistance and Diabetes

"Diseases or conditions associated with insulin resistance include the following:

Obesity
Type 2 diabetes
High blood pressure
Abnormal cholesterol levels
Heart disease
Polycystic ovary syndrome"