rivka

curiousangel got blood test results on Thursday, and his cholesterol is sky-high. Our doctor prescribed a statin for him, but we're also researching lifestyle changes. We, because my diet isn't very healthy either, and because I cook for both of us, and because these changes tend to be easier if someone else is going through them with you.

So: exercise. More fruits and vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, and fish - which comes at an inconvenient time, given that half of the fishes we would normally eat have been banished from my diet because of mercury. (And of the remaining allowable fish, shrimp is high in cholesterol. There goes half our favorite fish dishes. And it's so easy to keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer, and thaw a couple of handfuls for dinner. Well. Never mind.) Less red meat, less fast food, less fried food. More grilling and broiling. Strange new products like Benecol.

Fortunately, a lot of my recipes and cooking techniques are already relatively low in fat. And summer is a good time for marinated chicken breasts on the grill, and so forth. And exercise will give both of us more energy, and make us happier. Plus, of course, it would be worth any amount of deprivation and inconvenience to keep

curiousangel healthy. We're lucky he has the opportunity to make these changes now, before there's been any serious damage to his health.