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How low can you go?

Keeping your cholesterol levels balanced is vital for good health says Hazel Courteney.

Keeping your cholesterol levels balanced is vital for good health says Hazel Courteney.
Every year in Britain alone, more than 200,000 people die from a heart attack or stroke, and a high cholesterol count increases your chances of becoming one of these statistics by more than 60 per cent. Cholesterol is a fatty substance manufactured by the liver and is a vital component of every cell.

There are two types of cholesterol – HDL (high-density lipoproteins) and LDL (low-density lipoprotein. The HDLs are good for us – the easy way to remember this is H for healthy. The LDLs are generally bad for us – L stands for lethal.

Ideally your cholesterol reading should be between 3 and 5mmol/l. As soon as the reading goes above 5.2 you are at a higher risk of contracting heart disease.

If you do have a high cholesterol level, two of the most important supplements you can take are vitamin E, which helps to prevent the cholesterol oxidising, and B group vitamins including B12, B6, B3 and folic acid, all of which prevent the elevation of homocysteine levels which again tends to oxidise cholesterol and leads to plaque formation in the arteries.

Friendly foods

These are some of the cholesterol-busting foods you should introduce into your diet…

Generally you need to increase your fibre intake. Eat more oat or rice bran, rolled oats, wheat germ and any beans and peas. Whole grains such as brown rice, barley, whole wheat, rye, millet and quinoa are great for controlling cholesterol.
For even more fibre add 1tsp of psyllium husks to a glass or warm water and drink daily in between meals. This helps to remove bile salts and in turn will lower LDL cholesterol levels.
Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables (not boiled or fried though). Green vegetables are especially rich in magnesium and potassium, as are cereals, honey, kelp and dried fruit like dates.
A couple of raw organic carrots or apples a day can help lower cholesterol.
Eat porridge for breakfast. Add a chopped apple and raisins to sweeten.
Buckwheat, which is high in glycine, can lower cholesterol.
Eat fermented soya products such as natto, miso and tempeh.
Increase your intake of healthier fats found in olive oil, avocados, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and linseeds, plus walnuts and brazil nuts.
Oily fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel and sardines contain a fatty acid known as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). This helps to make the blood less sticky and lowers the risk of coronary heart disease. Garlic and onions do the same.
• Look for Columbus eggs, which are high in healthy omega-3 essential fats.
Use dandelion root tea, which helps liver function and cell regeneration.
A glass of red wine a day is also helpful.
Eat live, low fat, plain yoghurt containing lactobacillus/acidophilus, which lowers blood cholesterol by binding fat and cholesterol in the intestines.

3 of the best… Cholesterol busters

Nature’s Plus Red Yeast Rice, £19.95, work in the same way as statins to lower cholesterol. Available from independent health stores or nutricentre.com
Superba Krill Oil, £15.97, is rich in omega 3 oils that have a unique phospholipids structure more potent than the traditional triglyceride form found in fish oil. For details go to silvertownhealth.co.uk
Help Cholesterol, £16.79, contains 100 per cent natural ingredients including barley beta glucan extracted which has been clinically proven to reduce LDL cholesterol. For details go to workswithwater.co.uk

Did you know?

Eating too many barbecued or burnt foods, especially meat, hard margarines, fried foods and so on causes cholesterol to oxidise, which makes it more dangerous. As we age cholesterol tends to oxidise at a faster rate, therefore the more antioxidants we eat, the less cholesterol oxidises.

Foods to avoid

Cut down on your intake of animal fats and full fat dairy produce and eat more essential fats

As much as possible avoid mass-produced foods and oils that contain hydrogenated fats or trans-fats.
Refined carbohydrates, white rice, pastas, processed white breads, cakes, etc can reduce the production of healthy HDL cholesterol.
Sugar, if not burnt for energy during exercise, converts to fat in the body and resides on your hips – and in the long run raises LDL cholesterol.
Eggs contain cholesterol but this is balanced by a high choline content which breaks down the cholesterol.
Greatly reduce the amount of sodium-based salt you use.

And another thing…

Exercise is vital for controlling cholesterol. Try to walk for at least 30 minutes daily and do some kind of aerobic exercise three times a week.
Smoking increases the oxidation of LDL, so try to kick the habit.
Eating smaller meals every three to four hours, rather than three big meals per day, can help to lower cholesterol.
York Laboratories have a test to measure homocysteine levels backed by the British Cardiac Patients Association. For details call 0800 074 6185 or visit yorktest.com

Useful remedies

If you’re taking statin drugs, remember that they block the enzyme which makes Co-Enzyme Q10, which is needed to protect against heart disease. Therefore, if you are taking statins it is really important that you also take 150mg of CoQ10 a day.

As a base, take a good quality multivitamin supplement such as Kudos 24.
HMB (hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate – is generally used by bodybuilders, but studies show that this amino acid metabolite helps to lower overall cholesterol – especially LDL. Take 3g daily.
One of the best and easiest ways I have found for lowering cholesterol is to take grapefruit pectin fibre – try ProFibe available from the Nutri Centre.
Plant sterols are available in a tablet called Lestrin, which can help to maintain normal cholesterol levels.
Take 1-2g of fish oil daily.
Evidence has shown that taking garlic each day could help to lower overall cholesterol blood levels and increase the level of HDL over LDL.
Include a high strength antioxidant formula that helps prevent the cholesterol oxidising.
Co-enzyme Q10 (60-100mg) daily – combined with 100iu of vitamin E, has been shown to be more effective in protecting LDL against oxidation than vitamin E alone.
Folic acid, B12 and B6 all lower levels of homocysteine in the blood, thus reducing your risk of heart disease.
The mineral chromium (200mcg per day) can help elevate HDL levels while reducing cravings for sugary food
The minerals calcium and magnesium are useful for reducing cholesterol. Take 1,000mcg calcium and 600mcg of magnesium.

The good news

Cholesterol is not all bad! You need it for healthy cell membrane production and the manufacture of hormones. It is also needed in the synthesis of bile acids for the digestion of fats and for the production of vitamin D. Low cholesterol levels are linked to depression and, in rare cases, suicide, hence why fat-free diets are definitely not a good idea.

Article by

Hazel Courtenay

Health Writer

Author of 500 of the Most Important Health Tips You’ll Ever Need

Discover more

Article by

Hazel Courtenay

Health Writer

Author of 500 of the Most Important Health Tips You’ll Ever Need

Discover more