Wonderful News On Christmas Eve

As we get a little older, health issues have always seemed to be a forgone conclusion. Well this new way of eating appears to be changing things. At the end of January 2008 my annual prostate test came back with a PSA of 3.7. The lowest it had ever been was 3.2 back in March of 2004. I was happy with the results. Then I had a blood test in early September 2008 and the PSA had risen to 4.5. My doctor sent me to a urologist and he ran another test. In a matter of a couple of weeks, it had jumped to 6.1. For those of you who know about such things, quick jumps like this are a cause for concern. The urologist decided to put me on a month of antibiotics to see how things went. At the same time, I was following a totally vegan diet. No meat of any kind, no dairy products of any kind, no nuts other than a few walnuts, and no oils of any kind. Here it is, the day before Christmas 2008 and I show up at my urologist's office to check my PSA and determine our next course of action. Why I picked the day before Christmas, I will never know. Not a good time to be getting potentially bad news. To my amazement, it had dropped to 2.2. My doctor said he would see me again in six months. That is the lowest my PSA has ever been since I started monitoring it in January 2003. This was a great Christmas gift. (Even though my urologist is Jewish). What better present than the gift of health. I have taken antibiotics before and have seen my PSA drop to the high 3's, but never as low as it is now. Since I don't believe in coincidences, it is clear to me that being a vegan is literally modifying my health. I'm convinced that the radical lowering of my PSA was due to a combination of antibiotics and diet, and that diet played the more significant role. I haven't lost much weight lately. I am still down only 24 pounds, mostly the result of ingesting large amounts of carbs. Our new bread machine is great, but I have to learn to control myself from eating all the healthy bread I have been baking. It is so good, that I go through a loaf every two days sometimes. The interesting thing is that I haven't gained any weight.

Pam and I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year.