I beat my cholesterol problem – with porridge

Even from a young age, Dalhia Campbell knew she was at risk of heart problems later in life.

“My mother had her first heart attack in her mid-40s and then died from heart disease when she was just 52,” says Dalhia, 47, a registered dietitian from Perth in Scotland.

“So I was only about 16 or 17 when doctors first suggested that I have my cholesterol checked.”

Mum-of-two Dalhia was later tested for familial hypercholesterolemia, the dangerous genetic condition that can leave sufferers with double or treble the amounts of cholesterol in their blood than those without the condition.

But results revealed she was clear. Nevertheless, in her mid-40s Dalhia noticed her readings were creeping over the 5mmol per litre threshold – signalling a potential increase in risk.

As a dietician, she was all too aware of the role diet could play in pushing up her readings.

She switched to the Portfolio diet, a specialised diet developed in the US over a decade ago specifically to tackle high cholesterol. It advocates fewer saturated fat products and instead promotes intake of oats, pulses, nuts, fruit and vegetables.

She also had a daily helping of cholesterol-lowering drinks – like Benecol yoghurt.

“I now have porridge most mornings, maybe an oatcake with lunch and something with beans or pulses in the evening,” says Dalhia. “If I get peckish, I’ll snack on a handful of almonds. Pretty soon my cholesterol dipped back below 5mmol per litre once more and has stayed there.

“I exercise quite a lot and don’t smoke, so my other risk factors for heart disease are quite low. But I managed to cut my cholesterol levels by about 10% with dietary changes alone.”