High cholesterol is a serious problem as it increases the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Globally, a third of coronary heart disease is attributed to high cholesterol and therefore it’s important that people are firstly aware of what their cholesterol levels is and secondly, how to keep it in check. Dietician Helen Bond offers her advice and the four habits you need to stop to help you lower your cholesterol.

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It’s a common myth that people think they’d be able to spot high cholesterol due to changes in their health said Mrs Bond.

“Unfortunately, having elevated cholesterol doesn’t usually carry any obvious symptoms, so this isn’t the case,” she continued.

“Cholesterol can change quite quickly, which is why exercise and eating healthy should be embedded into your everyday routine.

“But we’re talking a few weeks, rather than days and the odd meal or day where you eat a bit more than usual won’t make a difference to your cholesterol levels in the long run, but if your healthy eating and exercise habits have totally gone out the window during the lockdown, this could have a big impact on your cholesterol and your weight.”

Therefore, changes to one’s lifestyle and eating habits is crucial to help lower cholesterol.

“Limiting unhealthy snacks, watching portions and the amount of saturated fat you eat, eating plenty of fruit and vegetables and introducing more activity into your day will all help get your cholesterol levels down again,” advised Mrs Bond.

“Also, if you have not done so already, consider adding special cholesterol lowering foods into your daily diet that will really help to nudge your cholesterol levels in the right direction, before your next check-up and cholesterol test.”

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What age should we check our cholesterol?

Mrs Bond said: “Cholesterol can affect the very young and very old alike.

“So, it’s never too early to start thinking about it.

“Our increasingly unhealthy lifestyles including poor eating habits that include too much saturated fat, a lack of exercise, smoking, high alcohol intakes and expanding waistlines due to a slowing metabolism – mean that as we move through the decades towards retirement age, the more likely we are to have unhealthy cholesterol levels.”

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When it comes to the latest figures from the Health Survey for England, only a third of 25 to 34 year olds have a total cholesterol above the generally accepted healthy target, compared with nearly half of 35 to 44 year olds, 61 percent of 45 to 54 year olds and 65 percent of 55 to 64 year olds.

Mrs Bond added: “But, just because you are young doesn’t mean that you can be complacent, as a large number of young adults also have cholesterol levels that are too high.

“The same health survey revealed that one in six young adults aged between 16 and 24 years old have a high total cholesterol level and so are putting their health at risk.”

When it comes to cholesterol friendly foods, Mrs Bond recommends:

• Spices and herbs including chilli, paprika and cinnamon
• Tinned vegetables including chopped tomatoes
• Tinned pulses such as kidney beans or chickpeas
• Healthy grains including brown basmati rice, porridge oats and buckwheat
• Oils, vinegars and condiments
• Dried fruits
• Cans of fish
• Nuts
• Popcorn

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