- Take it seriously. Cholsterol clogs up your blood vessels. It is a major cause of heart attacks, strokes and cancers including bowel cancer. And remember, having your Cholesterol tested every year and doing nothing about it is like weighing yourself every week. Absolutely no point.
- Adjust your diet: What is bad?
- Butter, Ghee
- Hard margarines
- Lard, dripping and goose fat
- Fatty meat and meat products such as sausages
- Full fat cheese, milk, cream and yogurt
- Coconut and palm oils and coconut cream
- Highly refined carbs i.e. lots of sugar and non-foods, cakes, sweets etc. If you get a lot of your energy from highly refined carbs this can also increase your cholesterol.
- Adjust your diet. What is good?
- Porridge, Oatbran, Oat breakfast cereals, Oatcakes, Bread made with 50% oat flour or oat bran
- Pearl barley, Adzuki beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, butter beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas, edamame beans, kidney beans, lima beans, mung beans, navy beans, pinto beans, split peas, white beans
- Red lentils, green lentils
- Vegetables rich in soluble fibre such as okra, aubergine, citrus fruits, turnip, sweet potato and mango
- Unsalted soya nuts (also called roasted edamame beans)
- Soya alternative to milk, yoghurt, Soya mince/chunks, Tofu
- Start exercising. Cardiovascular = sweat producing exercise. Three times a week for 45 minutes or 5 times a week for 30 minutes.
- Try to loose weight. Slimming reduces cholesterol.
- Cook from fresh. Don’t buy ready made products.
- Stop smoking and drink sensibly. Help is available for both.
- Inform yourself, be Cholesterol wise:
- Know your numbers! https://heartuk.org.uk/health-and-high-cholesterol/cholesterol-tests—know-your-number
- Ask your doctor for your Cholesterol Results
- Read more, inform yourself i.e. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/high-cholesterol/
- And read even more about what to do https://heartuk.org.uk/cholesterol-and-diet
- Calculate your risk on https://qrisk.org/three/index.php
Dr M Kittel, 2018